All I can say is OUCH. 115.00 for registration fee's, that's a 40% increase. What about all the families that collect money from the state and say they can't pay. Who pays for them? Oh yea, wait its you and its me, doesn't seem right. I hope they crack down on the people who don't live here and there kids go to our schools. I know of 2 families that do that now. Just not right. Sad to say my kids won't be doing sports next year because I can't afford it. Very sad. But hey, lets spend 13 million on building additions on our schools because parents say they work all day and need all day kindergarden. My parents worked all day and we didn't have all day kindergarden, we were just fine. That works, NOT.

I disagree with you Laura. Sure, I work full time and yes I will have to pay less for daycare, but any child who attends school for a full day versus ½ day will benefit (in knowledge) regardless of if their parents full time or not. My first daughter went to 1/2 day kindergarten last year and hardly learned anything due to the very little time she spent in school. I am hoping my other daughter will learn a lot more by going to kindergarten for a full day come this fall.

As for the families that "claim" they can't afford the $200 fee for full day kindergarten then their kid(s) shouldn't be allowed to attend full day kindergarten. It's that simple.

If the families "claim" they can't afford the $200 fee for full day kindergarden then their kid(s) shouldn't be allowed to attend full day kindergarden. It's that simple.

If you know kids who are attending our schools illegally, contact Mitchem and let him know the details. He can be reached at email: mitchemja@365u.will.k12.il.us.

Laura- If you add up the previous year's registration for high school it was $150. For 2012 it would be $190, making that only a 21% increase. It's still an increase but not 40%. I won't lie, all the other catagories and the increases seem to hit hard to our less than middle class neighborhood. But considering what other high schools pay (Plainfield South for example) their fees are over $400 and I don't believe this includes all their required books. (From website it was hard to tell the actual start of school year fees).
As for the all day Kindergarden I would have loved that for my now 13 yr olds. Not just as a daycare. Most parents work full time but also don't work 5 minutes away. I would have preferred to have them learn something, rather than play. The 1/2 day was such a waste. And for the record it wasn't even a half day, more like 2-1/2 hours.

There is a lot of discussion surrounding full-day kindergarten, day care, and the costs of both. I'm one of those parents who is frustrated by a high fee for all-day kindergarten. The more I think about it, the more frustrated I get. Kindergarten is elementary school, just like first grade. Yes, it's the FIRST year of formalized education, but it is a full day of school (not daycare), just like a full day of first grade. My frustration lies in the huge disparity between the fees for full-day kindergarten vs. a full day of first grade. Why are the fees for full-day kindergarten nearly THREE TIMES the (projected) fees of first grade? For that matter, why are the (projected) fees for half-day kindergarten nearly 50% higher than the (projected) fees for first grade? In my mind, those are the questions that need to be addressed.

OK terrible everything is going up but our pay checks. I was working p/t and was lucky to find a job at a school but the pay is not as good as if I work for a company. That is the choice I make but not having family here to help and cannot afford daycare/afterschool really makes it hard that the fees are going up. No wonder some many people loosing their jobs.

I totally believe in all day kindergarten. I volunteered most of the year for my Daughter last year and was shocked at how much they needed to do and learn. Some children were so behind to later find out they have to be passed to first grade. It is the parents decision to hold them back. In a 2 1/2 hour period, They had to put their stuff away, get situated, learn a bit and then an hour later it was potty break for a 1/2 hour! Now pack them all up and out the door they go. It was very disappointing and felt so sorry for the teacher that did her best with 28 children and no aide! Just not enough time. Another option would be mandatory preschool. By watching the children at school, I could tell who went to preschool and who did not. My children went for two years and it made such a difference. They learned social skills and their basics which helped so much to prepare them for kindergarten.
As for the fees, I agree with Laura. How many people get free school, free lunches free everything in this community? ALOT!!!! We will be paying for those fees. I understand times are tough but cheating the system is another thing. You should not own a brand new Escalade or get your nails done weekly if you are supported by the goverment. Period!
It is so hard just to sit and watch when we are just making ends meet and now all these fees for my three children will be so much! And it is to pay for the people that claim they cant pay. Makes me sooooooo mad!

Well said Pam...I to have watched people claim they can't pay the fee for early childhood which is where my son goes, it was $40 but she still had a coach purse. It makes me sick the stuff we have to cover for those cheating the system

Whenever I see people compare our education scores to other countries, I cringe. Not every country educates all their students. For instance, China (and many other countries) educates only a percentage of their students through high school. There are no special education students or struggling learners in their test scores - because if a child is not performing well in school, they don't get to stay in school. So they deal with a best-of-the-best thing. Heck, put our best-of-the-best kids up against them and we would be fine! We should really assess parental knowledge and support of the public schools. Then for sure the US would lag behind. I know it isn't everyoe, but there are folks out there that are just not supportive or involved in their kids' education. "Back in the day" it wasn't socially acceptable to have a rebellious child or not be active in the PTA and other school acivities. Now you see the same parents group of parents coming to conferences, performances, meetings, and open houses. Most of their kids are dooing well becasue the parents are involved. The parents that the teachers really need to see and work with are the ones who don't attend any school functions, and could care less if their kids were even in school, let alone putting forthe the effort to be successful. As parents, we need to take responsibility for our children's education.

Marie: Yes, by law public schools only have to provide 1/2 day Kindergarten. I didn't like the rise in the HS sports fee from $60 to $100 either until I spoke to a friend in Plainfield who told me they pay $120. I am about to have a 16 year old who may drive next year or the year after. That parking fee is what gets me. I don't see why I would have to pay $100 for my car to sit in a parking lot all day. Guess my son will continue to take the bus.

It is called double dipping we pay for school with our property taxes and then we have to pay a fee so our children can go the the school that we have paid for.

Kindergarten is not required by the state of Illinois. It is not formalized education it is glorified daycare at the expense of taxpayers. For one I have had it subsidizing other people's children. If you can't afford them or don't want to take care of them then stop having them.

Many other districts have much higher fees. Either we are getting a "bargain" or the kids are getting cheated. I think it's a case of "You get what you pay for".

You know, not all schools charge fees for their FREE public education. Many states do not allow schools to charge fees for anything other than extra-curricular activities. Like Marie and Anthony mentioned, why are we paying twice for something? WHy?!?

Why is the 1/2 day Kindergarten fee more than the other elementary fees?