School fees increasing for Lakota Local Schools as pandemic money runs out

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - Thousands of students at Lakota Local Schools will return to the classroom in just a few weeks, but with the new school year, comes higher fees.

Summer is quickly winding down and districts around the Tri-State are busy preparing for the 2024-25 school year.

In Butler County, the Lakota Local School District recently finalized its plan for the return of instructional fees, higher breakfast and lunch prices and an increase for pay-to-participate.

“We’ve been picking up the fees through the ESSER funds for the last 4 years,” said Lakota Local Schools Treasurer Adam Zink. “We initially planned on doing that for 3 [years, but] we stretched that for a 4th last year.”

ESSER funding is the federal pandemic relief money, which recently came to an end. Across Ohio, districts got nearly $6.5 billion, with Lakota receiving just over $20 million of that.

Zink says that money has allowed them to pick up the cost of all school supplies, issuing identical kits for all students over the last few years.

Depending on the grade level, parents will be asked to foot the bill with the return of instructional fees ranging anywhere from about $45 to almost $79.

Additionally, fees to participate in extra-curricular activities, like sports, marching band and color guard, will also increase. Those are going from $150 to $225 for students in junior high and from $200 to $300 for high schoolers with a cap for families.

“Part of that has become kind of the demand for the level of performance we have within all our programs,” Zink explained to FOX19 NOW. “The cost of supplemental contracts have [gone] up, with inflation, that’s made us take a harder look at how much is going into this.”

Another increase is in the cafeteria.

School breakfast is now $1.75 instead of the previous $1.50. Lunches are also jumping to $3 across the board.

Zink says there is help available for families facing financial hardship with free and reduced meals and school fee waivers.

But without the pandemic money to cushion the budget, these fee increases are the best solutions so taxpayers are not forced to foot the bill.

“We spend every day diligently trying to manage every penny that we have coming into the district to try to maximize the dollars that we have,” Zink added.

Lakota parents can find more information on the school district’s website.

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