By Kristine Snodgrass, Staff Writer
The Montgomery Township Board of Education plans to do away with the student activity fee as part of the 2010-11 budget.
The move was announced by Superintendent Earl Kim said at a meeting Monday night intended to solicit public input on the budget. The board plans to introduce a tentative budget at its next meeting, scheduled for Feb. 9.
In 2007, the district began asking parents to contribute a $75 fee per child participating in middle school or high school sports and extracurricular activities in an effort to offset the approximately $1.5 million the district spends on the programs each year.
The fee did not become mandatory for grades 7 through 12 until the current school year, resulting in an outcry from parents when the stricter policy was announced last spring.
The elimination of the fee will result in a $100,000 in lost revenue, Mr. Kim said.
”Our hope, and this is a sincere hope, is that parents who are able would take that money that they have earmarked for student activity fees and direct it towards the booster organizations,” Mr. Kim said.
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