- Jan 5, 2011
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Oh my gosh don't get me started on this. I think this is just a Chicago thing, not an American thing. The Chicago Public School system has decided that yes, we have to pay for public school. They name it "School fee" and say it's for some very specific list of things that makes it legal to charge (believe me, when we first moved here my first thought was "Is that even legal? Isn't public school free???" ) And you can apply for a waiver if you want to submit a million forms to verify that you are poor.
So to answer your question:
1. Yes it is paid for by our taxes
2. Yes, it is supposed to be free, and everywhere else I've lived it's been technically "free" - you just put your kids on that yellow-orange bus in the morning and off they go, no money involved.
3. Chicago is like its own planet.
We don't have school buses. Some of the schools contract with private bus companies, but transportation is not provided by the city. For my daughters' schools they are responsible for getting there. For the short time my older one went to public school here, she rode the city bus and the train to school. I walk or drive the younger one to school (or she can also take the city bus). It's not free, but students get a discounted pass. For my older daughter, getting her to/from school was $10/week (doesn't seem like much, but $40/month adds up quick!)
Each school in Chicago charges a school fee. For elementary schools (Kindergarten thru 8th grade) this can range from $75/year to $300/year. This year because of all the budget cuts, most of the ones I know of are in the $300 range. My daughter's school is $300 for this year. High schools (9th-12th grade) are $500-700. I really can't tell you what the fee covers exactly, but I know this year my daughter's school added $150 for kindergarten (so it's $450...to go to kindergarten... ) because they are giving them iPads to use. Yes, seriously. Most whacked out set of priorities I've ever seen.
On average, with fees and transportation, it costs me about $500-$1000 per year, per child to send them to public school here. Not counting supplies, field trips, etc.
***On a happy note, with the older one not in school here and not cheering allstar anymore...college, sororities, college cheer are nothing to me! It's practically LESS money. :cheering: