Paying the voluntary contributions at Primary school?

[glenny_c]

wow! That is quite high. I'm trying to think what the fees were at the last school I worked at. I teach year 6 and I'm sure it was under $100 for voluntary payments. I'd make sure you check on what the extra fees actually cover and whether your child will be disadvantaged if they aren't paid. I'm not saying I agree with it but a lot of schools will deny students loans of textbooks or access to computers etc if the voluntary fees aren't paid. This is usually only for older kids but you might find access to certain supplies such as paint or paper limited.

The other thing I would think of is that each teacher will be given a budget to spend on supplies for her class throughout the year. This is usually based on how many students in their class have paid the extra fees. Once this money is gone teachers can no longer access school money to buy pencils,rubbers,paint, paper etc for their class and it generally will come out of the teachers pocket. I don't know many teachers who would allow students to go without but I do know plenty who are spending in excess of $2000 a year on supplies for their students. Please don't think I'm having a go at parents because I'm not, I think it's revolting that it's up to teachers or parents to fund a supposedly PUBLIC system. Govt spending is very misguided in the education sector.