School fees amendments would have unintended impact on classes, expert says

SALT LAKE CITY — School fees amendments HB 415 is intended to help families with the financial burdens of sending their kids to school. However, it could cause unintended detriments to programs that don’t receive enough funding through school districts. 

“Any class that needs equipment or supplies will be negatively impacted by this bill,” said Robert Schmidt, president of the Utah Music Educators Association.  

Although Schmidt is a music educator, he said the bill won’t only cause problems for music classes. 

“It will cause problems also for visual art, ceramics, theater, dance, career, and technical education. Any class that needs equipment or supplies will be negatively impacted by this bill.” 

Students in these classes learn important life skills, such as communication, organization, and critical thinking. Additionally, they often help students form connections with like-minded peers. 

If the school fee amendments were to pass in their current form, schools would only be able to charge class fees if students left the class with the things their fees paid for. 

For example, Schmidt said students in a ceramics class could be charged a fee to buy tools, as long as students could keep them. However, the class wouldn’t be able to charge a fee to pay for clay. 

“The school would have to provide the clay. And right now there are fees that are charged for the clay. The kids still walk out with their product [at the end],” said Schmidt. 

Some programs get help, but it’s usually not enough

While some school districts provide help with funding supplies, several programs still need to charge additional fees. 

“From a Utah music educator’s standpoint, there are going to be problems with having groups being able to participate in state events,” said Schmidt. 

UMEA hosts several events that are open to students attending schools across the state. For example, they host several marching band competitions each fall. Those programs rely at least somewhat on student fees to pay for things like transportation to and from competitions, the design of their yearly show, and uniforms. 

“Several of the marching bands are tied to grades and they won’t be able to do what they normally do. In fact, some of the teachers have already talked about not being able to do marching band next year if this bill passes,” said Schmidt. “If this bill passes, they won’t have enough funding from the schools.”

School fees amendments could work with changes

The school fees amendments bill currently provides one-time funding to help bridge the gap for schools. However, Schmidt said that won’t be enough. 

“One time doesn’t do it, it’s got to be an ongoing fiscal note to help out with the gap that they would create by eliminating all fees,” said Schmidt. 

Alternatively, Schmidt said that lawmakers need to spend more time considering the consequences of the school fees amendments. 

“They just haven’t really looked at it close enough to understand the unintended consequences,” said Schmidt. 

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