photo by: Rochelle Valverde

Lawrence school board members discuss school fees as part of their meeting June 27, 2022, at district offices, 110 McDonald Drive.

Voicing concerns about the burden on families, Lawrence school district leaders pushed back against a proposal that would eliminate school fee waivers for some low-income families and instead charge them up to $90 per student.

The proposal was among several fee changes recommended by district staff that the Lawrence school board discussed during its meeting Monday. The recommended changes included an increase to the basic school fee, the elimination of the current fee waiver for some low-income families, and the creation of a new device fee for tablets and laptops.

Basic school fees would continue to be waived for the lowest-income families, those that qualify for free school meals, but families that only qualify for reduced-price meals would no longer qualify for a complete fee waiver. Instead, those families would begin paying basic school fees at a 50% reduced rate and a portion of the new device fee.

The board expressed concern about the steep increase in fees for families who have been receiving the reduced-meal waiver and asked district staff to bring back a proposal with lower fee levels for those families.

School board member Kelly Jones noted that those families do not make much money and said she would like to see their fees remain at $0, but that she would be willing to discuss other options.

“I know the ballpark of that number, and it’s very low,” Jones said. “And so if you have multiple children, that’s a steep increase from last year to this year for those families. So for me that’s concerning.”

To qualify for free school meals and a complete fee waiver, families would need to make below 130% of federal poverty guidelines, which is $23,803 for a two-person household, $29,939 for a three-person household, and $36,075 for a four-person household. Currently, families that qualify for reduced-price meals also get their basic school fees completely waived, but under the proposal would only receive the reduced rate. To qualify for reduced-price school meals, families must make below 185% of federal poverty guidelines, which is $33,874 for a two-person household, $42,606 for a three-person household, and $51,338 for a four-person household.

Specifically, under the proposal presented Monday, families that qualify for reduced-price school meals would pay a total of $60 in fees for an elementary student, $85 for a middle school student, and $90 for a high school student. The fees are comprised of the new reduced-level school fee, which is $50 for elementary students and $75 for secondary students, as well as the new device fee, which is $10 for elementary and middle school students and $15 for high school students. Currently, those families pay nothing toward the basic school fee, which comprises fees for books and materials.

Other board members also questioned the district’s proposal. School Board President Erica Hill asked the district staff if an equity analysis was done when looking at the fee proposal for families that quality for reduced-price meals. Cynde Frick, executive director of finance, responded that a comparison to fees in other districts was conducted, but an equity analysis was not done. Hill also spoke to the significance of the change for those families, noting that a family with three elementary-age kids would be paying $150.

“Going from $0 to that is significant,” Hill said. “Is there a way to consider that being per family?”

Board Vice President Shannon Kimball initially commented that she appreciated that the district had taken a “measured approach” to the fee increase, but later said she understood the concerns of her fellow board members. Kimball said while she saw the need for additional fees to help fund the costs of new materials and curriculum, that she would also consider different levels of fee increases than what were proposed.

“I think we have to balance the realities of our families with the realities of what the district needs,” Kimball said. “I do think that we may not collect as much as we think we’re going to collect if we set them too high, right? And so where’s the balance there?”

Board member Kay Emerson said she struggled with the proposal because the board had not gotten any input from the families that would be most affected by the change.

“Our reduced families are going to have a hard time with this,” Emerson said. “Who’s talked to them? I just think about like, here we are trying to make a decision and we’re bringing this very important topic in, but they’re not here to talk to us, so I struggle with that.”

The board discussed a couple of potential alternatives for the new fees for families that qualify for reduced-price meals, including a fee cap for families with multiple students and a greater level of reduction. The current proposal represents a 50% reduction in the basic school fee, but Frick said the district was not tied to that level specifically. In regard to how many families would be affected by the largest change, Superintendent Anthony Lewis said the district has about 450 families that qualify for reduced-price meals, which Frick said represents about 7% to 8% of the district’s students.

The fees for families that don’t qualify for free or reduced-price meals would also increase under the proposal. For families paying under the regular fee schedule (which also includes an existing $15 activity fee), overall fees would increase by $18 for elementary and middle school students, to a total of $130 and $180, respectively, and by $28 for high school students, to a total of $190. The increases are comprised of a $3 increase to the basic school fee for both elementary and secondary students and the addition of the new device fee. The non-reduced device fee is $15 for elementary and middle school students and $25 for high school students. Secondary students may also pay additional fees for certain courses and extracurricular activities.

Taken together, the changes the district proposed would have increased district fee collections by $226,000. The additions to the basic fee and the elimination of the fee waiver for families that qualify for reduced-price meals would generate another $75,000 for the district’s fund that supports new school materials and curriculum purchases. The district estimated the new device fee would generate an additional $151,000.

The board is scheduled to vote on school fees for the 2022-2023 school year as part of its meeting on July 11.

In other business, the school board:

•Voted unanimously as part of its consent agenda to finalize a contract with the district’s classified staff union, Personnel Association of Lawrence-Communication Workers of America, Local 6400. PAL-CWA membership recently voted to ratify the proposed contract, which increases funding for those workers’ wages by $806,336. As the Journal-World previously reported, the proposal fell far short of the union’s proposal to bring all pay to at least $15 per hour. Jones, one of the board’s representatives in negotiations, said before the approval that she wanted to acknowledge that the district has “a ways to go” to address union concerns.