Why is summer course tuition more than $350?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It remember it said $350 per course when we registered.
But the bill is $364.25?

Item Name Price Due Date
1 Full Tuition: 1 High School Summer Course - 2023/2024 $364.25 Aug/31/2024

Is the extra $14.25 a processing fee or something? Anybody knows? Thanks!

350 for Health B? scam. MCPS must be in real $ trouble to be charging that amount for that class!

Because you think teachers work in the summer for free? How much do you think Health class would be if you took it elsewhere?

How much do the teachers get paid for teaching a summer course? A class of just 20 students brings in $7k in fees. Can MCPS students take Health from any entity other than MCPS?

Health Ed usually has many more kids than 20, maybe 40 or more, forget how it was last year but it was a very large group, all online and most of it auto graded. Very few live sessions.

That wasn’t my kids experience last year in health A. There were live sessions, as REQUIRED for the course three times a week. Much of the work was essays and slides shows which couldn’t be auto graded, though I question whether the teacher actually read them rather than just giving everyone 100 percent anyway

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It remember it said $350 per course when we registered.
But the bill is $364.25?

Item Name Price Due Date
1 Full Tuition: 1 High School Summer Course - 2023/2024 $364.25 Aug/31/2024

Is the extra $14.25 a processing fee or something? Anybody knows? Thanks!

If you go in person and pay at business office, no processing fee.

If you pay in person at our school we only accept cash.

This has not been presented as an option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers have to be paid for working.

Are you saying teachers weren't paid last year for working over the summer? I find that hard to believe. Perhaps I missed the communication on the cost, but it would have been helpful to know about the cost at the beginning of the school year. DS has a health class that he couldn't fit into his schedule because it wasn't offered and he was going to take it over the summer. I can't rationalize paying that much for a health class.

Last year's summer school budget was paid for with federal ESSER funds, which no longer apply.

Before ESSER funds came in during the pandemic, MCPS summer school always charged tuition.

Off-topic but do you remember or have a link to this because it would help settle an argument between my husband and myself. He doesn’t think they used to charge and I remember a charge.

They definitely did charge. Here is the 2020 memo, the last time they approved the tuition rates pre-Covid:

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/BKFLWB5673E6/$file/FY2021%20Summer%20School%20Fees.pdf

And here's the corresponding memo from 2014:

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/9FYLDF5366CB/$file/10.0%20FY15%20Summer%20Schl%20Fees.pdf

If I knew you, I’d buy you a drink!

The fee for summer school is only the exact dollar figure approved by the Board of Education. They are the legal authority that sets the fee. There is no charge on top of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It remember it said $350 per course when we registered.
But the bill is $364.25?

Item Name Price Due Date
1 Full Tuition: 1 High School Summer Course - 2023/2024 $364.25 Aug/31/2024

Is the extra $14.25 a processing fee or something? Anybody knows? Thanks!

teachers need to get paid

Do you think that $14.25 goes to teachers??? It goes to the company that processes the payment.

It is not like many other places do not charge extra for using a credit card.

The issue here is that there’s no other option but to use a credit or debit card and incur the fee. They should not have advertised the cost as $350, because it clearly wasn’t.

I too hate when I buy something at 5Below and it's $5.06 at the register. No option to opt out of the sales tax, they should call in 506Below!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It remember it said $350 per course when we registered.
But the bill is $364.25?

Item Name Price Due Date
1 Full Tuition: 1 High School Summer Course - 2023/2024 $364.25 Aug/31/2024

Is the extra $14.25 a processing fee or something? Anybody knows? Thanks!

teachers need to get paid

Do you think that $14.25 goes to teachers??? It goes to the company that processes the payment.

It is not like many other places do not charge extra for using a credit card.

The issue here is that there’s no other option but to use a credit or debit card and incur the fee. They should not have advertised the cost as $350, because it clearly wasn’t.

I too hate when I buy something at 5Below and it's $5.06 at the register. No option to opt out of the sales tax, they should call in 506Below!

The BOE does not pay sales tax.

[Anonymous]

As already stated on page one, the extra amount is the credit card processing fee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It remember it said $350 per course when we registered.
But the bill is $364.25?

Item Name Price Due Date
1 Full Tuition: 1 High School Summer Course - 2023/2024 $364.25 Aug/31/2024

Is the extra $14.25 a processing fee or something? Anybody knows? Thanks!

teachers need to get paid

Do you think that $14.25 goes to teachers??? It goes to the company that processes the payment.

It is not like many other places do not charge extra for using a credit card.

The issue here is that there’s no other option but to use a credit or debit card and incur the fee. They should not have advertised the cost as $350, because it clearly wasn’t.

I too hate when I buy something at 5Below and it's $5.06 at the register. No option to opt out of the sales tax, they should call in 506Below!

How is this relevant? Summer school fees are not subject to sales tax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As already stated on page one, the extra amount is the credit card processing fee.

The BOE didnot authorize that fee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As already stated on page one, the extra amount is the credit card processing fee.

The BOE didnot authorize that fee.

They don't determine credit card processing fees.

Pay it or don't sign up. But don't complain about it here, nothing to do with mcps or the board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As already stated on page one, the extra amount is the credit card processing fee.

The BOE didnot authorize that fee.

They don't determine credit card processing fees.

Pay it or don't sign up. But don't complain about it here, nothing to do with mcps or the board.

That’s completely ridiculous. Of course it’s the responsibility of MCPS which is overseen by the board of education. Who do you think chose the vendor? Did it just magically happen? Who decided they wouldn’t collect checks at no fee or offer other ways to pay? Who decided that when they said it was $350 they didn’t already include all the fees? Yes, it is an mCPS and PPs are absolutely entitled to complain.

[Anonymous]

I have a sophomore at Poolesville who took Health A virtually last summer and is currently taking Health B virtually after school on Wednesdays from 5:00-6:30. The class never meets the full 90 minutes. It’s less than the full semester. I think it only started in March or April and they’ll finish by the end of the school year. It’s free. I don’t know if it’s only offered this spring for free or if it will be next year too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As already stated on page one, the extra amount is the credit card processing fee.

The BOE didnot authorize that fee.

They don't determine credit card processing fees.

Pay it or don't sign up. But don't complain about it here, nothing to do with mcps or the board.

I was mildly irritated to see the additional fee but went ahead and paid it anyway. But messages like this one trying to absolve MCPS from the additional burden THEY have placed on parents by choosing to add the additional fees of their payment system instead of sticking to the agreed cost as an inclusive fee (as they do with other costs through school cash online) is motivating me to advocate against this BS up charge and complain to them. It’s a bait and switch and listening to this central office shrill PP trying to justify it has me all riled up!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As already stated on page one, the extra amount is the credit card processing fee.

They should let you authorize a transaction from your bank account with no fee.