Monday night, the School Committee voted to raise fees for the district’s Before School and After School programs so they can qualify for state reimbursements.
Starting Jan. 1, 2015, the rates for the Watertown Community Education Before and After School Out-of-School-Time Programs will rise.
“We have to raise some of our rates to get the maximum voucher from the state,” said School Committee member John Portz.
Programs that receive state reimbursement must charge a rate equal to or greater than the state subsidized rate for the same service, Portz said.
The biggest change is for parents with more than one child in the program.
“Unfortunately (the new rates) take away most of the sibling discount,” Portz said.
Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald said the district raised just as much as they needed to meet the state requirements.
“We went with the minimum amount they recommended,” Fitzgerald said. “The woman from the state said she couldn’t believe we could run a program for that little.”
Here are the rates:
Before School
Grades PreK-5 Drop In Fee – 5 days, Current $87/mo, $6 a Day; New Rate – $139/month, $9/day
Non-refundable one time registration fee (No sibling discount) – Current – $87; New Rate – $100
After School
Grades PreK-5
5 Days – Current – $340, New – no change
4 Days – Current – $272, New – no change
3 Days – Current – $204, New – no change
2 Days – Current $136, New – no change
Additional Sibling Discount
5 Days – Current – $237, New – $324
4 Days – Current – $190, New – $260
3 Days – Current – $143, New – $195
2 Days – Current $95, New – $130
(Plus a $100 non-refundable one-time registration fee).