Cash-strapped public schools nickel-and-dime parents

Whatever problems may now dog our public education system, at least every child can get a free education, right? Well, not exactly.

Crafty K-12 administrators who are battling budget cuts have found creative ways to bring in extra revenue through fees for anything from enrolling in honor courses to mandatory "registration" or "instruction" fees, The Wall Street Journal's Stephanie Simon writes.

Simon reports that some schools are asking parents to pay for honors and specialty classes up-front, saying they would otherwise have to eliminate those courses altogether. Parents have also been asked to pay for biology-lab goggles, workbooks--sometimes even printer ink. (In some cases, administrators waive the fees for low-income students, but there is still the possibility that the fees can scare poorer kids away from honors courses.)

At Blue Valley School District in Kansas, it costs $235 just to enroll, as administrators hiked fees more than 50 percent this year. Simon profiled an Ohio family who spent nearly $4,500 enrolling their children in basic courses, electives, and extracurricular activities at Medina Senior High.

In most states, it's illegal to charge for core classes, but schools can charge for broadly defined "supplemental materials."

(Stock photo: Thinkstock)