Faced with rising costs, the School Committee voted this week to approve a number of new or increased fees to take effect in fiscal 2026. The fees cover parking, bus transportation, sports, and preschool tuition. They are expected to produce about $54,000 in revenue. Together with a proposed savings of $12,000 in technology leases, the income would allow the schools to reduce the amount the schools are seeking in the omnibus budget by about $66,000.
Mandy Ostaszewski, director of school finance and operations, presented a memo at the Feb. 10 School Committee meeting detailing the new fees and showing how they compare to similar charges at a half dozen or more nearby school districts.
The only completely new fee is for student parking. Bromfield High School juniors and seniors can currently register for a parking permit, but there has been no charge for parking. Starting next fall, the fee will be $100, prorated at $10 a month. Other school districts in the area charge as little as $50 (Littleton) or as much as $300 (Lincoln-Sudbury).
Ostaszewski noted that Harvard’s school bus fees are currently among the lowest in the area and have not increased in 15 years, although the cost of bus transportation has risen sharply. The fee for taking the bus to school will go up from $225 to $300 per student, with a cap of $825 per family. Students who live more than 2 miles from the school are exempt from this fee. Bus fees in nearby towns range from $200 in Chelmsford to $395 in Concord-Carlisle.
Increasing the sports fees was a difficult decision, Ostaszewski acknowledged, because the schools want to encourage student participation. But the cost of the school athletic program for last fiscal year was over $330,000, and user fees covered less than half that amount. The current athletic fees vary widely from one sport to another and between varsity sports and middle school sports. Next year, the fees will be standardized at $250 per middle school sport and $350 per varsity sport. There is no family cap, but waivers will still be available for families that cannot afford the fees.
Annual tuition for full-day preschool will go up from $8,500 to $10,000 next year. For half days, the cost will rise from $4,250 to $5,000. These increases are expected to generate about $24,000 in additional revenue.
Finally, the schools also expect to save $12,000 by reusing this year’s seventh-grade iPads for next year’s fifth-graders, rather than leasing new ones.
School Committee Chair Abby Besse stressed the need for a written understanding with the town administration and Finance Department to be sure the revenue from the new fees is available to support the schools.
