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School board holds public hearing on proposed credit-card processing fees
Summary
At a statutorily required public hearing, the Big Lake board discussed a proposal to begin charging users for credit-card processing fees effective July 1; members and staff emphasized a cash-or-check option to avoid fees and invited written public suggestions.
The Big Lake Public School District held a public hearing on a proposal to pass credit-card processing fees to people who pay with cards, a change administrators said would take effect July 1.
Board member speaker 1 opened the hearing and said the district uses multiple online payment platforms and that state statute requires a public hearing before adopting such a charge. The proposal would shift processing costs to the person making the payment rather than having the district absorb them. Speaker 1 emphasized there will remain an option to pay by cash or check to avoid the fee.
A resident who did not provide a name for the record urged the board to pass the fees on to card users so that savings could be redirected to classroom instruction, saying, “If you pay with a credit card, the school district should not have to absorb those fees.” The resident added he lives in the district and would prefer money be used for instruction, athletics or lunch programs.
The chair closed the hearing after brief comments and the board moved on to other agenda items. No vote on adoption was recorded at the hearing; the proposal was presented for public comment and staff noted the statutory hearing requirement and a July 1 implementation date if the board adopts later. The district repeated that cash or check will remain available to avoid fees and invited additional written suggestions from the public.
