SWAMPSCOTT — Dennis Kohut, the principal at the high school, attended the School Committee Thursday evening to discuss a possible policy regarding financial support for class dues.
“The purpose of me being here … is to bring something to your attention that really came up for me for the first time last year in the spring, and that was managing requests from families who were really looking at class dues and having a difficult time being able to afford to pay those class dues,” Kohut said.
In his presentation to the committee, Kohut explained how in 2022, seniors had to pay $85 in class dues which would primarily go to events like prom. Freshmen, sophomores and juniors had to pay $75 in class dues. By the end of high school, that adds up to $310.
“Last year we ran into a situation where we were in, let’s say April or May, and many families hadn’t paid … until the last year so that was a pretty significant amount of money that they needed to pay,” Kohut said.
Other costs also come up for families such as athletic fees, prom tickets and advanced placement exams.
“Last year 17 families reached out to me seeking financial assistance with class dues,” Kohut said. “That cost was absorbed by what was in that Class of ’22 budget but we don’t have a written policy for financial assistance for class dues.”
There are equity questions in place that Swampscott Public Schools asks when making any decision, Superintendent Pam Angelakis said. Three of those questions that are applicable to the situation are: can everyone participate? Did we leave anyone out? What are our blind spots?
“In thinking through those questions it does raise some questions, is this a barrier for people if they can’t pay the class dues? We don’t ever want to be in a situation where we say to a family ‘you can’t attend prom because you can’t pay the class dues,’” Kohut said.
The “hope” was for the School Committee to adopt a policy regarding this, he said.
“It should also be noted that caps and gowns cannot be distributed to those students that owe money,” Angelakis said.
School Committee Member Suzanne Wright said “it is not our purview to have a policy for student activity funds” and that it is a “high school thing.” Chair Glenn Paster said he agreed with Wright.
Wright also said it “doesn’t sit right” with her that students can’t get their caps and gowns if the dues aren’t paid.
“I get that everyone needs the money so that everyone has these experiences but there are definitely kids that didn’t go to any of these experiences through their whole four years … and to force everyone to pay it doesn’t sit right,” Wright said.
Committee members gave suggestions and advice on how Kohut and Angelakis could move forward with this issue which Angelakis said they would consider.
