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Attorney general says education must be free; without fees, some schools face funding bind
Published on Thursday, Sep 20, 2007
From staff and wire reports
COLUMBUS: Public school districts, including some in the Akron area, cannot require parents of kindergartners to pay for all-day schooling, according to an opinion by the state's top lawyer.
Attorney General Marc Dann made his decision based on a law that requires school districts to provide free education to all children, said Kevin McIver, chief of the opinions section in Dann's office.
Districts are advised to stop charging parents and to reimburse tuition to those who request it, McIver said.
The state mandates only half-day kindergarten programs and pays toward that cost. The state also helps fund a full-day program in high-poverty districts. One such district is Akron, which gets extra money from the state to pay for all-day kindergarten based on its large number of low-income students.
Other districts that offer all-day kindergarten have been paying for it out of their budgets.
Those that have been charging parents for the full-day service said they might have to cut the program or cut spending elsewhere to make up for the lost revenue.
Faith Kittoe, the interim superintendent of the Lake school district, which charges tuition for all-day kindergarten, said Wednesday that she had not yet seen the attorney general's opinion. She declined to comment, saying she first wanted to see the opinion and confer with the district's lawyer.
Lake charges tuition for parents who want their children in all-day rather than half-day kindergarten. The district has considered offering full-day kindergarten for all students but has been prevented by space and funding constraints.
The Stow-Munroe Falls district has been offering all-day kindergarten for a fee for more than 10 years, said spokeswoman Jennifer Huffman.
She said district officials are waiting for more information before responding.
Officials just learned of the decision Monday, she said. ''I got an e-mail Monday (from the Ohio Department of Education), and I was shocked,'' she said.
Department spokeswoman Karla Carruthers said the department requested Dann's opinion after receiving complaints from parents about tuition.
The state does not track how many districts charge tuition. A majority of the state's districts offer a full-day program.
Those that have required parents to pay for the full day of kindergarten have been charging anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand.
The Aurora school district in Portage County may have to decide whether to get rid of the full-day option or dip into funds for other programs to account for the $200,000 loss in tuition.
''We didn't see this coming,'' said Superintendent Russ Bennett.
The nearby Solon school district has offered the full-day option for more than 17 years, and about 80 percent of its 240 kindergartners take advantage of it.
Solon Superintendent Joseph Regano said his district might also have to get creative with its budget to cover the $300,000 cost for the extended day. He said he doubts the program would be scrapped this year and leave parents hanging.
The Department of Education's Carruthers said 448 Ohio districts offer all day-kindergarten. Of these, 122 receive state money to pay for it.
The other 326 offering all-day kindergarten pay for it through their budget or charge tuition.
From staff and wire reports
Get the full article here.
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