Glen Rock Walks Back on Activity Fee Policy

The Glen Rock Board of Education on Monday night unanimously voted to not require all students to pay an activity fee if they don't join in extracurricular activities.

According to school board president Sheldon Hirschberg, only those students participating in extracurriculars will need to pay the participation fee. High school students will pay $200 and middle school students $100. There will be no family cap for 2013-2014.

"People [in the audience] actually applauded," the school board president said Tuesday.

Administrators – and some board members – had previously recommended that all middle and high school students would have to pay, regardless of participation. They reasoned it would make logistics significantly easier and maintained it was not a money grab (the same $150,000 in revenue had been budgeted for 2013-2014 as it was for 2012-2013).

Roughly 80-90 percent of students already participate in at least one extracurricular.

The board had previously voted to institute the fee by a 5-4 vote. Dissenters called it a "tax" and said the activity fee was only created in 2010 due to a loss of state aid. Though introduced, the resolution did not come up for a final vote.

New superintendent Paula Valenti requested that the board halt its decision to implement the new policy so she could better study the issue and provide guidance.

"She studied it, studied other districts, talked to parents and administrators and made the recommendation to go back," Hirschberg said. "The board unanimously supported her." 

The policy will take effect for the 2013-2014 school year.