MOORPARK : Bus Fees Studied for After-School Events

Moorpark high school students may soon have to pay special fees to take a school bus to ballgames or other extracurricular events, under a proposal being considered by the school board.

At its meeting Tuesday night, the Moorpark Unified School District Board of Education gave preliminary approval to the new policy, which would require students to pay $100 a year for the first extracurricular activity they participate in, such as the football team, speech and debate teams, band or cheerleading.

During any school year, each student would have to pay $75 for a second activity and $50 for a third. The policy sets a maximum fee per student of $225 a school year, with the maximum fee per family $325. The board will consider possible final approval of the policy in August. Students from families on welfare could obtain a waiver to the fees.

From 1984 to 1989, Moorpark schools charged transportation fees for extracurricular activities, but stopped after similar charges at other schools were challenged in various lawsuits. Lottery money was then used to pay for the bus service, which cost $48,000 to transport 570 students involved in extracurricular activities during the 1990-91 school year.

Several school districts have considered reinstituting the fees after the state Court of Appeal in April upheld the right of districts to charge for transportation. However, the ruling may be appealed to the state Supreme Court.