Note: Part One, published yesterday, discussed how one woman’s crusade to eliminate required fees for public school classes and programs has garnered mixed reactions.
Brett Killeen, principal of Torrey Pines High School in the San Dieguito Union High School District, said in an email that the requirement to fund all extracurricular activities at his former high school in San Bernardino resulted in reduced quality of programs in some cases, a fact that sometimes “irritated students.”
For example, rather than allow the cheer team members to buy their own cheerleading outfits, the school supplied them. “It was of lesser quality and could not be customized, because the uniforms were used year-to-year,” Killeen said. “They were checked out to the students; they couldn’t keep them anymore.”
“It’s a tricky line,” said Brian Kohn, principal of Canyon Crest Academy, another high school in the San Dieguito district. “You want to make it clear these programs do cost money. They’re expensive. So you need the donations.”
But Kohn said the school is careful about the language used to solicit funds.
“We say, ‘Here’s what the program costs.’ But it’s very carefully worded to make sure that people understand that it’s not something that affects whether or not a student can participate,” he said.
The Envision arts program at Canyon Crest is particularly expensive. Even so, Kohn said no student whose family cannot
Read more: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-12-22/education/education-commentary/parent-fees-for-public-education-come-under-scrutiny-part-two#ixzz0aQCDp3dH