Glen Rock BOE Halts Vote on Activity Fee

At the request of new superintendent Paula Valenti, the Glen Rock Board of Education agreed to delay the vote on a controversial modification to its participation/activity fee policy.

Had the board agreed to adopt the resolution on Monday, all middle and high school students would be required to pay a flat fee, regardless of whether they participated in extracurriculars. It's now headed back for a subcommittee discussion, with the input of Valenti, Board President Sheldon Hirschberg told Patch Thursday. It's unclear when Valenti's recommendation will return to the board.

The introduced resolution would have levied a fee of $175 for high school students and $75 for middle school students. Under the current "participation fee," students in high school are charged a flat $200 to participate in extracurriculars, and middle school students pay $100. However, those who don't play don't pay. That would have changed under the proposed policy; every student would be forced to cough up cash.

The school board introduced the resolution on March 4 with a 5-4 vote, but incoming superintendent Valenti, hired in late March, came at the tail end of the process. She wants to assess the situation herself and provide guidance, Hirschberg said.

"So as superintendent, I am respectfully asking that it be removed from the agenda tonight, and that it go back to the committee, so that we can engage in further discussion about the history of this regulation and policy, and so that I can provide my input and leadership as well," Valenti said Monday night, according to the Glen Rock Gazette.

The measure has been hotly debated in recent months.

"I never voted for this policy from the inception –– I strongly believe it's a taxation, a double taxation – you pay taxes and you pay activity fees," trustee Sanjiv Ohri told Patch. In some cases, Ohri said, residents with multiple children could be paying several hundred dollars on the fees, which would not be capped.

"This policy is not fair," he said. "It's not a money grab but you're taxing selective residents. It's dividing the town."

Board Vice President Barbara Steuert previously said the policy would greatly improve bookkeeping and efficiency. The 2013-2014 budget tabbed expected revenues from the participation/activity fee at $150,000, the same figure as 2012-2013. 

When the participation policy was first passed in 2010, officials framed it as a necessary revenue mechanism designed to combat the loss of state aid.

But the board passed a 2013-2014 budget that lowered the taxes and contains a surplus, leading dissenting board members to conclude it's now become a permanent tax, a deviation from its initial purpose.