Marblehead selectmen vote to leave school fees unchanged

MARBLEHEAD – Fees charged for students who play sports and join clubs won’t be going up next month when school begins.The School Committee voted unanimously to leave those fees at their present level at Tuesday morning’s continuation of their summer retreat – and the committee plans to schedule a public forum to discuss school fees during the school year.The fee structure includes: Marblehead High, $340 a year for students participating in sports, theatre productions and all clubs, $180 a year for students in clubs that meet weekly and $90 a year for students in clubs that meet once or twice a month; Marblehead Veterans Middle School, $100 a year for students participating in intramural sports and $150 a year for students participating in interscholastic sports; Marblehead Village School, $100 a year for students participating in intramural sports and other school activities. The maximum amount per family is $480 per year.Those fees pay for sports expenses and contractually negotiated stipends of 51 club advisors. A school club must have at least six members to cover the cost of an advisor.Last year, however, according to School Business Manager Jonathan Goldfield, the amount collected from fees was $17,000 less than the expenditures.So far the shortfall on the athletic side has been absorbed by the surplus in gate receipts from high school sports – Superintendent of Schools Paul Dulac noted that he does not commingle funds from sports and non-sports activities.Goldfield told the committee the problem was not the fee amount, but the collection process.”We’re still collecting some fees from Fiscal 2009,” he said. “If we collect 100 percent of our fees next year there will be no shortfall.”Committee Chairman Dick Nohelty said there were hidden additional costs for parents, like renting a musical instrument for students in music groups, and committee member Patricia Blackmer noted that students are frequently expected to seek charitable contributions to help cover team and club expenses as well.Nohelty estimated the total that parents kick in could reach $1,000 per student, despite the efforts of boosters groups that help practically every organized school activity.”People who care pay more,” he said.Dulac said he agreed, but from a different perspective: “We offer a better (school) program than our per pupil expenditure pays for,” he said. “We pay for it in other ways.”The committee added one fee to the total, for a new Grade 3 violin program, which will take place before or after school this fall: $60 per student, on a motion by Blackmer. With more than 90 students signed up at the Bell, Glover and Coffin schools, that amount will cover $6,000 for a teacher. That vote was unanimous.