Letter+to+Families

Dear Parent/Guardian:

The Methacton School District is committed to providing the best education for our students, and we believe that extracurricular activities and athletics are integral to any well rounded education. However, the restraints of Act 1 and reductions in revenues due to the nation’s financial crisis have forced us to examine how we can continue to provide these opportunities, without placing an unfair burden on the community’s taxpayers.

The Board of School Directors, after careful review and consideration of the recommendations presented by the Finance Committee of the Board and District administration, approved the establishment of an Activity Fee during their June 15 meeting.

This fee has been adopted to help maintain and offset the funding for the many extracurricular activities and sports the district currently offers. If a fee was not approved the district would be faced with the decision to further reduce or eliminate of some of these activities.

An Activity Fee of $50 per secondary school family (grades 7-12), per year, will be assessed this fall, with all fees due by September 21, 2010. This is an annual fee, not a fee to participate in an activity or sport. All students benefit from and/or participate in extracurricular activities and athletics. The activity fee will help reduce the operational costs for secondary extracurricular activities and athletics that otherwise may have been reduced due to a lack of funding.

No student shall be denied participation in extracurricular or athletic activities due to their inability to pay the fee. Therefore, students or parents may contact the office of the Assistant Principal for Athletics and Activities to determine if other arrangements may be made for payment of the fee. Arcola students may also contact the office of the assistant principal with concerns about their ability to pay.

The Board believes all learning experiences offered by the school, including extracurricular activities and athletics, are fundamental to the Methacton education. The Board makes every effort to balance any fee or additional cost incurred by our families against the goals and objectives of the District. For more information about how the fee will be collected, and to review frequently asked questions regarding this program, please visit the district’s website at [|www.methacton.org] /studentactivityfee.