Parents see big gap in school fees among districts

Diane Rado, Mick Swasko and Jim Jaworski:

On top of hefty charges for textbooks, technology, bus rides, sports and clubs, school districts are hitting up parents to pay fees for hundreds of individual courses, from French I to American literature, history, foods and furniture-making.
The so-called course or lab fees can range from $10 or $20 to more than $100 per class, depending on the school, records show, pumping up parents’ bills and adding to the rising cost of a public school education in the Chicago region.
“This is like private school,” said parent Gio Chavez, who walked out of Oak Lawn Community High School’s registration this week shellshocked. The final tally for her sophomore son’s classes: $665.