Leaders at Valparaiso Community Schools are welcoming the elimination of textbook rental fees, as part of the state budget. Chief Financial Officer Jim Holifield says the fee often surprised families moving to Indiana from other states.
"As a parent, I know that I paid for about 25 years for my four children, I paid for book fees," Holifield told the school board Thursday. "This is very welcome. I'm so glad that Indiana has joined the 43 other states that don't charge for book rental fees."
But there may be a few challenges. Holifield said the amount of state textbook funding will end up being $10 less per student than what the district had been charging. And there are other fees and revenues the school corporation will no longer be able to collect.
"So for the 2023-24 school year, if we receive the $152 per student, we're going to wind up absorbing about $167,000 in our Education Fund," Holifield explained.
On top of that, Holifield said there are still some unanswered questions that the Indiana Department of Education has yet to clarify about how exactly the new system will work.
Families will still have to pay for some field trips, classroom supplies, lost or damaged materials, and dual credit classes. Still, Holifield stressed that Valparaiso Community Schools isn't looking for loopholes to "nickel and dime" parents, and Superintendent Dr. Jim McCall added that the district wouldn't cut corners to reduce costs, either.