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State changes force district to remove general fees; board reviews school fee schedules and state reimbursement plan
Summary
Following state changes to allowable school fees, Provo staff proposed updated fee schedules for middle and high schools, noted the district will receive phased state reimbursements for prior general fees, and highlighted follow-up work on free-path graduation requirements.
Provo School District staff presented revised school fee schedules on March 28 to comply with recent state law changes limiting required fees for curricular courses.
The district removed general required fees (previously $100 at high schools and $65 at middle schools) and updated elective and optional fee listings for each campus. Staff explained the state will reimburse districts on a sliding scale for lost required‑fee revenue: an estimated 75 percent reimbursement this year, 50 percent next year and 25 percent in the third year (staff estimated the first-year reimbursement to be about $324,000). The district reported the prior aggregate general fee revenue (historical receipts) at about $386,000 and said state funds will not fully replace historical balances indefinitely — reimbursements decline over three years.
Staff also highlighted that the new law requires districts to provide a free path to graduation so that students can complete required coursework without paying fees by the 2026–27 school year. The district noted several implementation tasks remain, such as distinguishing instructional supplies (consumable) from instructional equipment and updating graduation policy language to reflect the fee changes.
School fee tables remain in place for elective and optional items (instrument rental, extracurricular travel, optional trips), and staff proposed adjustments to ensure optional trip maximums and combined-trip limits comply with district policy (for example, the policy that two optional trips combined should not exceed a $2,000 cap where that limit applies). Board members asked for clearer notices to families on the district website and for notes clarifying that a listed “maximum” does not mean every student will be required to pay the top amount.
Ending: Staff will publish clarified fee tables online, enforce combined-trip caps, complete policy updates for graduation requirements, and track state reimbursement receipts over the three-year transition.
