Paying the voluntary contributions at Primary school?

[Mak]

We've just received our new prep's school fees for 2012 - it breaks down to $330 for the year in fees with an additional $400 in voluntary contributions (building fund/maintenance/extra contribution).
I am interested as to how many people pay this extra each year.

[Traveller]

I pay the mandatory fees, but not the building contribution and computer upgrade contribution as I simply can't afford it.

[nothing2lose]

I usually pay it all.

Can I just ask if it is a State School?? It seems quite high.

[mummame]

wow that is high. I am bad, my daughter goes to a public school and her voluntary school fees were $40 for kindy and $60 for pre primary... I didn't pay them.

[Catastrophic]

With my DSS I paid the book levy thingy wish added the voluntary contribution but it was never that high! OUCH!

[Nai]

I pay it all but ours generally comes to less than $300 from memory.

[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.

[Olive]

Ours are $117 voluntary fees and $117 compulsory, DD is starting prep and we paid the full amount,

[Beatrix]

Our fees are $223 and the voluntary is $7 so $230... So we pay it all


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[~ Mylitta ~]

One of my step sons is in a state school and the voluntary fees came to just over $300 for us too. We didn't pay it last year and haven't this year. Last year we were about to have my daughter (who was an IVF bub) so we were pretty thick in bills, and this year we are close to having our surprise bub, so again we've got quite a few unexpected bills. I was surprised last year when we didn't pay them and then received an invoice for them from the school. To me "voluntary" means, well... voluntary! So I never expected an invoice. We didn't do anything about it though and it was never chased up with us.

My other son is at a specialist private school so his fees run over $10grand and none of it is voluntary :/ Hopefully this year we are able to get government funding though so it won't cost us quite as much.

[Mother Goose]

Our total fees (inc the voluntary payment) came to around $200 so we just paid it all.

[AnyDream]

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.

The reverse situation is where some parents buy the books and pay the contribution, then all the supplies are collected and placed in a cupboard in the classroom for distribution by the teacher and 3/4 of the way through the year you find out your child is doing all their writing with a 3 cm stub of pencil because the other 5 pencils (or glue or erasers or exercise books or whatever) have been used by other children in the class and now there are none left.

[Mak]

Interesting! Thanks heaps for being so open about your fees and experiences.
N2L - we are at a public primary but in a really well off area. Interestingly DH and I are probably some of the lowest income earners given the cars/houses/holidays /SAHP's about however it was interesting to note that many of the families we know are choosing not to pay the voluntary fee. TBH I am a bit naive and assumed that if you can afford it you would pay - as after all surely the kids would benefit from the extra services it provides??
There seems to be a large expectation that the kids will access extra services like a kitchen garden, ICT in the classrooms with laptops/ipads in the senior years (blows my mind really). The school also covers 2 extra teachers in terms of library, sport and art positions from memory.

[AnyDream]

Mak, I must be naive too because I always assumed that most would pay, but apparently not.

[Beatrix]

If the girls voluntary fees were over $50 each I wouldn't pay both times, just simply because we can't afford it.
But I would pay it for one of them.

Our school it doesn't affect what they are entitled to use.

Plus I'm a school volunteer within the canteen and committees so whereas I can't afford money I try to make up with my time.


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[Traveller]

I think it might be different at our school, The usual voluntary payment (about $140) is not voluntary. Plus we pay for stationary/pens/glue sticks etc. So I pay about $250 per child. Then there are building and computer improvement fees, which are voluntary. They equal about another $100 per child, and I just can't afford it But no other kids will suffer, I don't believe, as in having to use stubs of pencils. There are always heaps of pencils and things left over at the end of the year which get divided up amongst the kids and sent home.

[Astrid]

About $230 for the booklist - no Voluntary payment - booklist covers stationary (even though I do think I have to send pencils this year), swimming and basic excursions. We are hit by a lot of fundraiser though.

[Floweryfields]

Not having a school child yet, I wasn't aware of such a thing. Seems quite unfair to me that some families help pay additional costs but not all.