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School committee to stop absorbing online payment convenience fees; change takes effect July 1
Summary
The Swampscott School Committee voted unanimously May 8 to stop absorbing Unibank online payment convenience fees and to pass those fees to payers beginning July 1, 2025, after staff reported the district has paid nearly $16,800 in fees in FY24.
The Swampscott School Committee voted unanimously May 8 to stop absorbing Unibank convenience fees for online payments and to begin passing those fees through to the person making the payment, effective July 1, 2025.
District staff presented a memo showing the district paid $7,616 in convenience fees in FY21 and $16,793 in FY24. “Up to this point, the district has absorbed these fees within our budget,” the presenter said, noting the fees “have practically doubled since FY21.” The town treasurer reported that, of 159 municipalities using the same vendor, 149 pass the fee on to the payer and only 10 currently absorb the cost.
Officials discussed technical details of the vendor’s fee schedule, including that ACH (electronic check) processing is charged at $0.50 and that the vendor now supports Venmo as a payment method. Committee members said families who prefer not to pay convenience fees can choose alternate payment methods or pay in person.
After clarifying language and confirming an effective date for the new fiscal year, a motion to adopt the change as described by staff and make it effective July 1, 2025 passed unanimously.
The committee asked staff to notify the town treasurer and to publish the change so parents and vendors understand new charges before the 2025–26 fiscal year begins.
