Following the release of the approved 2010-11 Fairfax County Public Schools budget, much controversy has developed over whether or not the new $75 price tag on each International Baccalaureate or Advanced Placement test and $100 fee to play sports are just in a public education system.

“I thought school was supposed to be free,” said junior Andy Craig, who is slated to have to pay over $500 in activities fees next year.

Craig is one of many AHS students whose family will have to come up with extra money to pay for their student to take full advantage of public high school. In order to challenge these new sanctions, three public hearings are being held on June 10 at 7 p.m. to discuss options regarding the new fees. The locations of the hearings are T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, VA, James River High School in Midlothian, VA, and Joliff Middle School in Chesapeake, VA.

“We encourage students who cannot afford either the AP/IB fee or the sports fee to make sure they talk to their counselor or administrator about it so that we can fully waive or partially waive the fee,” said FCPS Superintendent Jack Dale when he announced the approved budget. “This is a tough economic time and there are families who have lost jobs or are in other circumstances that we need to be sensitive to.”

Although these waivers do exist, many students were not aware of their availability.

“I’ve never heard of this waiver but I’ll probably look into it now,” said junior Nathan Miller.

The hearings will not only be used to inform people of the waivers and other aspects of the budget, but also to provide a platform for the Virginia Board of Education to hear the public’s opinions on the matter. You can also provide comments online at http://tinyurl.com/Vaschoolfees or by email to [email protected].