‘Activity fee’ equals ‘tax’
To the editor:
Our school district has a budget problem. It wants to spend more money than the taxpayers want to pay.
Here’s an idea to add $1 million to the spending pile without the worry of voter approval. Let’s call it the "Laverty Activity Fee."
Here’s how it works:
Charge each student a $200 (x 5,000 students) activity fee. Wow, we just added $1 million to the pot! And the district still gets to spend the original budget too! Excellent idea. The voters are too stupid to figure that one out (snicker).
I’m sorry to say I missed the board meeting on this topic. I had to take my son to his wrestling club (at my expense, of course) so he can kick some butt for the Hightstown High wrestling team. HHS wrestling just had a fundraiser for warm-up suits so they won’t look like poor cousins at the wrestling meets against other schools. Cost: $100 per team member. Thank you to our community for your support. With the new activity fee no doubt these suits would have been paid for by the district. Right? Anybody else do fundraisers for their activities? Oh, you do? Even you "band" people? I never guessed. How about you football folks? You too? Wow, who’d a thunk it?
What’s next on the brainstorming menu, Mr. Laverty? Hey, let’s charge a "tuition fee" for attending school. And how about a "bus fee." Make each kid buy an EZ Pass. If you don’t like it, walk. And a "desk rental fee." Heck, the kids don’t have to sit down.
I’m getting the hang of this! Get these next ones. A "supply fee" for all the pencils, paper and tape the kids use. A "technology fee." Those computers cost money, you know. Whoa! A "heating and cooling fee." For air conditioning and heat. That’s sneaky. A "security fee" to pay for the new school security guards. Kind of like a protection racket. It’s New Jersey after all. And a "report card fee" if you want your grades. A "teacher fee" to pay for the teachers.
Do you see where this is going folks? Get this fee-ball rolling and it won’t stop. So don’t start.
It’s not an "activity fee," it’s a TAX! TAX! TAX!
As the Beatles sang in "Taxman":
"If you drive a car, I’ll tax the street
If you try to sit, I’ll tax your seat
If you get too cold, I’ll tax the heat
If you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet"
I’m against activity fees.
Brian Virgil
East Windsor
Student fees would hurt many families
To the editor:
In all the years that I have lived in East Windsor I have never been compelled to write to the Windsor-Hights Herald until now. Having families pay a fee so that our children can participate in extracurricular activities is outrageous!
I for one take great offense at school board member Bob Laverty’s statement that we are already accustomed to paying for sports such as Little League. Over the last several years, my children have not been able to take advantage of the non-school district sports because of the fees that must be paid before they can join. We cannot afford them. I have told my children that since we cannot afford to pay $90 per season per child for soccer, baseball, etc., that they could try out for these sports when they go to middle and high school. Now you want to take that away from us also?
What about the after-school clubs at the high school? Will we now have to pay $100 per child for them to go to the clubs too?
And please do not use the argument that if you are a low-income family that is receiving federal lunch assistance that you will not have to pay for the extracurricular activities, because I am sure that there are many families in our district that are not eligible for that program by just a few dollars because the federal program counts your gross income and not your net income. How many families in this district are just getting by every month because of the high rate of taxes, heat, water and groceries without help from any federal programs?
I think that it is time that the East Windsor Regional School District starts thinking about the lower-middle-class student whose parents are struggling to give them a home in a wonderful township and stop catering to the lower-income families who get plenty of assistance from the state and federal governments. Please do not approve the pay to play because you will be hurting more families than you can even imagine.
Renee Miller
East Windsor
Do holiday shopping at McKnight craft show
To the editor:
It is with much excitement and pride that I am announcing a special event that will be taking place at the Ethel McKnight Elementary School on Saturday, Dec. 9. This event is the Holiday Craft Show sponsored by the McKnight PTA.
The brand new school opened its doors in September. As a McKnight parent, I could not be more proud of this new facility. It gives me enormous pride that my children can benefit from such a beautiful, state-of-the-art school. I have always been impressed by the hard-working and dedicated teachers at McKnight, but now I am equally impressed by the classrooms in which they teach. The sense of community that my family feels at McKnight is remarkable.
The children at McKnight have been waiting a long time for their new school and are equally as proud. That is why this Saturday’s event is worth the mention. It is the first time the students can show off their new school to their family and friends outside the community. The gorgeous cafetorium will house more than 70 vendors at this event. These vendors will offer such things as jewelry, accessories, toys, books, holiday baskets, baked goods, specialty coffees, candles, housewares, crystal, photography, holiday items, clothing, knitted items, wooden crafts, pet items, sports memorabilia and much, much more.
The day’s events will include a 1 p.m. performance by the McKnight chorus led by the school’s music teacher. Also, the Tom Bryan Karate School will be there to perform an exciting demonstration at 2 p.m. There will be food available to purchase as well as many children’s activities. Some of the activities planned are sand art, face painting and balloon art.
We encourage this community to support this event. It will prove to be a wonderful day of holiday shopping and a great way for our community to feel connected.
The doors open Saturday at 9:30 a.m. and the fair will run until 4 p.m. We hope to see you all there.
Suzanne Simon
Ethel McKnight School PTA

