By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post
Students in the free lunch program at Hays High School will start paying to attend summer school.
In a 4-2 vote Monday night, the Hays USD 489 Board of Education decided to implement the regular $100 fee per half-credit hour for HHS students eligible for free lunches, who previously paid nothing for summer school classes.
Hays High School Principal Marty Straub addressed the board, stating he felt the fee will deter low-income students from attending summer school.
“Poverty is real….I don’t want to turn away a kid from summer school because they can’t afford the 100 bucks. I know the reality is some of our students will not be able to afford the hundred dollars,” Straub said.
He added, “When students fall behind on credits, it’s the chicken and the egg. What comes first, the person refusing to do the work and failing purposely, or is it just doggone hard by the time they get to ninth grade and they (have) fourth grade math skills?”
According to Straub, many students start seeing success in summer school and “many times, they get … a new lease on life — academic life, anyway.”
Board member Sarah Rankin pointed out 60 percent of summer school students are low-income.
“So, the majority (of summer school students) have socioeconomic factors that are contributing to their ability to get to school, get their homework done, and that sort of thing,” Rankin said.
Straub agreed research shows low-income students are in a “high risk” area of not graduating from high school.
“Poverty has a lot of characteristics many of us do not experience,” he said.
Board members Danielle Lang and Sarah Rankin voted no on the measure while board president James Leiker, Josh Waddell, Lance Bickle and Greg Schwartz voted yes. Board vice-president Marty Patterson was absent.
The fee increase is projected to generate $10,500 in revenue this year while summer school expenses are projected to be $8,314.40.
The board plans to monitor summer enrollment rates and graduation rates to see if the $100 fee deters low-income students from attending summer school.
The measure also keeps fees for driver’s education at $300.
Story clarified, Feb. 19