Hollister
– San Benito High School administrators are considering new
rules that would prevent students from playing sports and
participating in other activities if they have unpaid textbook
fines and school fees.
Hollister – San Benito High School administrators are considering new rules that would prevent students from playing sports and participating in other activities if they have unpaid textbook fines and school fees.
Students at San Benito High School owe $100,000 in fees and fines to the district, administrators recently reported. Under the current fine system, much of this money is not collected until the end of a student’s senior year, which board members and administrators alike agree needs to be changed.
Vice Principal Duane Morgan said administrators are discussing making students with outstanding fines ineligible to participate in sports or activities. The ban would be lifted once the student pays the fine.
Some student athletes think this measure would be unfair.
“I don’t like that, because I know I have fines,” said 16-year-old Samantha Goytia, who plays volleyball at SBHS. “Sports are supposed to be free for everyone.”
But other students think it would be an effective measure.
“I think it makes sense if it’s your fault. If you can’t be responsible for a book, how can you play a sport?” said 15-year-old Angelica Banuelos, who participates in track, cross country and soccer at the high school.
But these measures would still apply only to some of the students.
“The kid might have a set of bills from sophomore to junior year that just follows them around, and if they’re not really engaged in school activities it might just continue to follow them around,” said SBHS librarian Doug Achterman, who collects fines for unreturned textbooks.
Besides unreturned textbooks, students also receive fines for lost library books, as well as unpaid fees such as bus transportation fees.
Several incentives are currently in place to encourage students to pay their fines, but most of these apply only to upperclassmen. Until their debt is paid, students aren’t allowed to attend prom, walk at graduation, or get their diploma or official transcript.
Several SBHS trustees expressed frustration that the fees were not being addressed earlier.
“They need to address it early on. Waiting until a student is a senior is way too long,” SBHS Board Trustee Steve Delay said. “You can do a lot of things with $100,000 rather than have it written off the books – that’s a teacher and a half.”
Most of the outstanding student fines are eventually paid off. Achterman said that when seniors graduate they leave behind around $6,000 in uncollected fines each year.
District staffers are looking for new ways to ensure fines are addressed and paid earlier.
“We’re going to start planning so they don’t accumulate such a big bill at the end,” Morgan said. “No parent wants a $300 bill their (child’s) senior year of high school.”
Morgan said administrators also plan to use the school’s new phone system to call parents with reminders about the fees.
The high school received approval from the board for its new auto-dial system in February, making contacting parents an easier process than in the past.
Delay said he was happy to see that the administration was addressing this problem. He said he hoped this would help to diminish the outstanding fees.
“I just don’t think anybody has really been tracking this in the past several years. I think it’s important to address it, stay on top of it and deal with it,” he said.
Alice Joy covers education for the Free Lance. She can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 336 or at [email protected].
