Liberty board imposes caps on extracurricular fees

The district has received more than 200 applications in its open-enrollment program.
By HOLLY A. TAYLOR
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
LIBERTY -- The school board agreed to place caps on the amount a family will have to pay for their pupils to participate in extracurricular programs.
Several parents came out Tuesday night to the board meeting to express their concerns about the district's pay-to-participate program that will be started in the 2004-05 school year.
There is no guarantee the program will be thrown out if a proposed school levy passes in a special election in August, board members said. The board has until May 20 to put a levy on that August ballot.
They did say, however, there will be a cap on the amount a family will have to pay for their children to participate in extracurricular programs such as drama, band and athletics.
The cap will protect parents of more than two pupils who are active in numerous school activities from paying higher fees.
The maximum amount a single family will have to pay for one year of extracurricular activities is $255 per pupil and not to exceed $1,075 for all pupils in the household.
Athletic fees will be at a minimum of $125 for middle school pupils and $250 for high school pupils for each program, also capping at a maximum of $1,075 per household.
No cancellation plans
The board also does not plan on canceling any programs on the school calendar if the levy does not pass. "Current program offerings will not be replaced," said Superintendent Larry Prince.
He confirmed, however, that the Liberty School District would be in fiscal emergency if the levy were to fail in August.
"We will not collect one nickel [from the pupils] before we have an outcome of the election," Prince said in response to one parent's concerns for pupils who start athletic training programs this spring for next year.
Parents were worried that pupils would have to pay for athletic programs now in anticipation of the levy's not passing.
Open enrollment
Another program the board discussed was open enrollment.
Board members planned on about 70 open-enrollment pupils for the 2004-2005 school year. The board has recently increased its expected open-enrollment pupils by 40 for a total of 110 pupils for the 2004-2005 school year. So far, the board has received more than 200 applications from pupils who want to attend Liberty schools, and they expect more.
By using open enrollment, the district will receive more than $500,000 for one school year. The state subsidy for each child in a public school system is about $5,000.
This additional funding will help in maintaining school programs and building maintenance, district officials said.
Prince acknowledges the pay-to-participate and open-enrollment programs are "a work in progress." Changes will be made concerning those programs and others throughout the summer in preparation for the upcoming school year, regardless of the levy's outcome.