At its fourth meeting on the subject, the School Committee has agreed on several student fee reductions and a hike in school lunch costs for younger grades.
At its July 10 meeting, the committee …
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At its fourth meeting on the subject, the School Committee has agreed on several student fee reductions and a hike in school lunch costs for younger grades.
At its July 10 meeting, the committee voted to raise the school lunch price for youngsters in Kindergarten through grade 6 from $2.75 to $3. The recommendation to do so came after it was learned that the amount Westport charges students at the elementary and Macomber schools is less than a formula set by the state Department of Elementary & Secondary Education.
Other fees were reduced or remained the same …
• The student parking fee was reduced from
• The student athletic fee was reduced from $250 to $175.
• The cheerleading fee was reduced from $175 to $125. The superintendent had recommended dropping that fee by $25 to $150, but School Committee member Carolina Africano said she believed it should be reduced by the same $75 amount as most other athletic fees.
“They don’t get transportation … they basically get nothing” for their fee, Ms. Africano said.
That’s not quite true, committee member Mark Carney said, since cheerleaders are provided a coach as are other sports.
“I don’t thing it is equitable,” Ms. Africano said.
The committee eventually voted unanimously to set the cheerleading fee at $125.
• Co-op ice hockey fee remains at $800 — that’s partly due to the high cost of ice time, the committee was told.
• Transportation (school bus) fee for grade 7-12 students will drop from $225 to $200 per student; family transportation cap will drop from $450 to $400..
The superintendent said she was erring on the side of caution — “We want to be sure we have enough (money) if we have to put another bus on the road.” Each bus costs the town about $69,000 per year.