Collection agency to help U-46 collect delinquent fees

Elgin Area School District U-46 officials plan to hire a collection agency to track down unpaid school fees from parents.

The district has about $750,000 in outstanding fees from enrolled students, U-46 Director of Operational Services Jeff King estimated.

Between 3,500 and 4,000 families are delinquent in their fee payments, King estimated.

The 2007-08 budget projects about $850,000 in student fee revenue this school year.

Administrators selected Centurion Service Corp. to collect delinquent fees. Centurion has provided this service for other area districts, including Palatine District 15 and Roselle District 12.

Centurion's charges 25 percent of the total amount they are assigned to collect.

The company will send letters and make calls in English and Spanish, and will offer payment plans for people who cannot afford to pay the fees all at once.

Previously, fee collection happened at the school rather than district level.

Because the process wasn't centralized, U-46 historically hasn't had a handle on how much parents owe, U-46 Chief Financial Officer John Prince told the school board this week.

The job of pressuring parents to pay delinquent fees often fell to building secretaries, Prince said.

"This will get it off the secretaries' desk," Prince said. "Secretaries have a whole lot of other work to do, and it puts them in an awkward position. … We want them welcoming parents."

The district will work with Centurion to implement a plan for collecting the fees beginning in January, Prince said.