Board Approves Increase to School Fees

Student parking fees at will increase next year, as will school lunch prices, and the per-family fee limit on athletics will be removed, based on changes approved by the Waukesha School Board last week.

The parking fee will increase from $50 to $100 per semester and from $1 to $5 for a daily pass. The higher fee will increase district revenue by $59,000. The parking fee was last increased in 2003. District documentation notes that the district provides maintenance of the lots, including resurfacing, plowing, salting, lighting and trash removal.

Next year, there will be an annual athletics participation fee of $150 per student. There will be no family cap on the cost and no per-sport fee.

The advantage of the annual fee is that there is no additional charge for a student to be a year-round athlete and that may encourage students to try more sports, according to the district. It is estimated that this change will increase revenue by $41,000.

School Board Member Joseph Como said that the finance committee had a long discussion about the athletic fee; however, this fee is in-line with athletic fees in other districts.

Also, in response to School Board Member Ellen Langill’s concern about dropping the per-family cap on athletic fees, Como said his committee was told that principals were proactive in supplying aid where necessary.

School lunch prices will increase by a by $.10 this year and are expected to continue to increase by a similar amount for the next five years. School lunch prices are being of the federal Child Nutrition Reauthorization Healthy, Hunger-free Kids Act of 2010, according to the district.