The Patterson Joint Unified School board voted 6-0 this week to charge up to $160 per student per month for afterschool programs.

The new fees mean parents will have to fork over more money in most cases, but it will also make fees more even throughout the district, said Alysonn Cassidy, district coordinator for afterschool programs.

Parents with children in one of the school district’s six current programs will have to pay $160 per month for kindergartners and $80 per month for other grades. Families in the free/reduced lunch program will pay $160 for kindergarteners but only $20 for kids in other grades.

Until the board’s decision at the Monday, June 15, meeting, fees for afterschool programs varied widely. For example, Grayson Charter School typically charged nothing, while Apricot Valley usually charged more than $100 a month.

Also, prices could vary depending on a series of factors, Cassidy said. She said she could not provide a comprehensive list of the previous fee structure because there were too many variations.

With the new program, everyone will have to pay one of the three fees, regardless of school.

The board’s decision allowed almost no warning for the parents of the almost 600 students participating in the program. This led one board member, Ruben Pina, to abstain from voting.

“The players need to be informed,” Pina said.

Trustee Michele Bays countered that staff said the only two options were the new fees or no programs.

The fees were reviewed as the district prepared to open a new school on the east side of town, Walnut Grove Elementary. When Cassidy started organizing the new facility’s afterschool programs, she decided to address the district-wide discrepancies.

She calculated the new fees based on the total estimated cost for the programs and dividing that evenly among users.

Superintendent Patrick Sweeney was quick to point out that the afterschool programs would still cost less than a typical day care provider.

• Contact John Saiz at 892-6187 or john@pattersonirrigator.com.