School programs must charge fees

By, Toni Momberger, Staff Writer

REDLANDS - The law says education must be available for free to
everybody, but without charging for participation, many sports and
arts programs could not exist.
I have a lot of experience with these programs, and I will tell you
all day that they're worth the money.Here's the truth of it. If you do
it the way my family did, public school costs a fortune. My children -
currently a college freshman and a high school junior - joined as much
as their schedules allowed; actually, my daughter joined more than
that. Last year my husband and I had two kids in marching band, one
in choir, two in wind ensemble, one in badminton and one in the school
musical. And we have only two children.Those activities cost more than
$2,000. That does not include the optional trips and banquets.That
does not include the optional expenses of my son's senior year: a
letterman jacket, senior portraits, a class ring, a yearbook page, a
cap and gown, and graduation announcements.This is painful for a
school teacher and a journalist, but we believed it was money well
spent, and we chose to find a way.From my experience, plus an
unofficial poll I conducted on Facebook, I learned that music is much
more expensive than sports, so I will share music numbers.Neither of
my children is in marching band this year, but for the five proud
years I was a high school band mom, here's how it worked. You showed
up for a registration meeting on the first Wednesday in June and wrote
a check for $600 per child, more if you didn't already have the shoes.
A third of that was for band camp - attendance mandatory. The rest
went toward uniform maintenance, music rights, guest instructors,
transportation and competition entrance fees.

Then throughout the year, there are additional expenses: tickets to
car washes, pancake breakfasts, barbecues. If you don't pay for the
tickets by the deadline, they lock your student's account. (Reporter
Kristina Hernandez learned that that's because a student could be
selling the tickets and keeping the money. She was told we could turn
the tickets in to the finance office if we don't sell them.) My kids'
accounts have been chronically locked for six years. With all the
stuff my kids do, there's seems always to be a fee I have not paid.
But here's the reason it's fair: The boosters provide opportunities
for the families to raise the money. Kids can sell scrip, cookie
dough, wrapping paper, movie tickets, program ads, candles, discount
cards, tickets to the California Theatre and car wash tickets to
benefit their personal accounts. And if families still need help,
there are booster scholarships.

There are parent groups working behind most, if not all, of the
activities, raising money for the whole group, supporting every child
that wants to participate, largely because they believe in the value
of the program. And here are just some of the reasons it's important
to do it: The children, the schools, the families and the town. They
all benefit. Our musicians, mock trial teams, athletes and artists go
out into the world and make Redlands look great. The children work
hard together and share the accomplishment.

The parents work behind the scenes, sending the message that their
kids are worth their time and energy. The families of the kids on the
team get to know one another. And the kids learn sportsmanship,
teamwork, discipline or the arts. They make great friends, and get a
sense of belonging. It's hard getting harder as the economy slumps.
We Mombergers turned off our TV service. We sold scrip. We washed
cars. The fees were necessary, the programs accommodate everyone, and
the work is worth it.

For more information on these matters, please call our office at 305 548 5020.

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