School board approves one-time fee for extracurriculars

With a goal of simpler administration and increasing student participation, the Canton School Committee voted last month to implement a one-time user fee for both extracurricular and performing arts programs at Canton High School and the Galvin Middle School.

The fee will be $60 for extracurricular activities and $75 for performing arts programs and is separate from the user fees for bus transportation and athletics. The fee will be charged in September and will cover participation in multiple activities throughout the school year.

Activities that are exempt from the fee include those in which students are selected, such as the National Honor Society and Student Council, which do not cost the School Department any money.

A full list of exemptions and how the fees will be implemented will be disclosed at the next School Committee meeting in July.

Committee member Dave Emhardt said parents have told him that the problem was in the implementation and collection of the fees and not so much the cost. “Parents want to know when the money is due, and we need to make it simple for them,” he said. “They don’t like surprises in the middle of the year.”

Superintendent Jeff Granatino said the new “one-size-fits-all” fee, combined with the new online payment system, will help streamline the process and make it easier to collect and administer.

The committee began reviewing the idea of a one-time extracurricular fee at its May 23 meeting, with the goal that the money would be collected at the beginning of the school year. Currently there is a $50 fee per activity for programs that involve staff and supplies with a $200 family cap.

Granatino researched the fee structures in surrounding school districts and found that of the 32 communities surveyed, the average one-time fee was $71 and the average fee for performing arts was $111.

Schools wary of Plymouth Rubber project impacts

Also at the June 13 meeting, School Committee member John Bonnanzio provided an in-depth financial analysis of the impact that the Avalon and Plymouth Rubber apartment projects would have on the school district. His analysis concluded that if both projects come to fruition and produce 400 rental units, an additional 100 students would enter the system and the School Department would need an additional $500,000 to cover operating costs.

The Avalon project, a large Chapter 40B development planned on the Canton-Randolph town line, won a favorable decision in Superior Court after a contentious legal battle between the town and the former developer, the Roseland Property Company. Selectmen subsequently negotiated a $1.95 million mitigation package with Avalon Bay Communities, which is in the process of obtaining construction permits for the 196-unit project.

The developers of the Plymouth Rubber site, meanwhile, are exploring their options after their latest proposal — consisting of 204 apartments and 348 total units — was unanimously rejected by selectmen due to density concerns.

Selectmen, however, did keep open the possibility that the developer, Canton Holdings LLC, could submit a modified plan with fewer units.

Bonnanzio based his analysis on a state Department of Education certified per-pupil expenditure of $13,413 and an estimated $1,000 cost for capital expenses.

Bonnanzio looked at the eight largest rental complexes in Canton and found that while they produce a little more than $1 million per year in additional tax revenue, they end up costing the town more than three times as much — at least $3.5 million — to educate 267 students and five out-of-district special needs students.

Growing concern over these projects prompted Bonnanzio at the recent town meeting to propose a School Building Study Committee, which will report back to the 2014 town meeting regarding projected enrollments and school space needs. The seven-member committee consists of a representative from the School Committee, Board of Selectmen, and school administration, as well as four at-large members. Those interested in serving on the committee should contact Town Moderator Alan Hines through the selectmen’s office.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Jul 3 2013. Filed under News, Schools. Both comments and pings are currently closed.