Grayslake kindergarten fees could go up

Some Grayslake Elementary District 46 board members Wednesday night expressed concern over a proposal to boost kindergarten fees for the 2011-12 academic year.

Under the tentative plan, the kindergarten fees would go from $100 to $125 per student. District 46 Superintendent Ellen Correll said a final decision is needed soon because kindergarten registration packets for the next school year already are being assembled.

Board members Karen Weinert and Michael Carbone were among the elected officials who questioned whether the $25 increase would be appropriate. Weinert asked for specifics on where the extra money would be directed.

Carbone said the added cost on parents could amount to hitting them with a “double tax.”

“We’re already rated as one of the highest-tax districts in (Lake County),” Carbone said.

But board member Susan Facklam said it would be prudent to wait until the proposed 2011-12 budget becomes clear. She said she wants to know how the proposed $25 kindergarten fee increase would affect the budget.

District 46 board President Mary Garcia said she doesn’t favor raising fees just for the sake of doing so. As a mother of four children, she said, she knows how the fee hikes can add up.

“I would rather not impose a fee unless the district was so strapped we have to impose a fee,” Garcia said.

The board will continue discussing the fees next month.