Masuk Free Press

Masuk is a public school; meant to foster equal opportunity among students.

While it is true that Masuk is free to attend, many neglect to consider the many additional costs that are asked of students. When you break down the typical student’s school day, they arrive at school, attend classes, eat lunch and go to sports practice. While nothing off of that schedule seems exceptionally lavish, when you destruct the costs required to participate in relatively normal school activities, you find that being a Masuk student is rather expensive!

It is the norm among upperclassmen to either drive themselves to school, or hitch a ride with a friend. In order to park in the school parking lot without punishment, your car must be adorned with a parking pass. These mandatory passes clock in at a wallet bending $125  — an extreme amount of money to ask of a highschool student. The students who work mostly earn minimum wage, and making enough money to buy the right to park in their school’s parking lot would take roughly eight hours.

“I asked a friend who goes to Trumbull High School, and their parking passes only cost $50. So I don’t really know why Masuk has to make it so expensive,” said junior driver Alexa Gill.

Students having to pay such a hefty sum to simply get themselves to school (a place where they are legally required to be) seems rather absurd. 

After students take a final glance at their expensive parking pass and leave their car, it is now time to attend class. Classes, where students are taught and prepared for their futures, should without a doubt be equal opportunity experiences. While all college preparatory courses are free to take, many students participate in Advanced Placement or UCONN level classes. Both have varying fees of over $100. These academically rigorous classes provide a higher level of learning, and have the payoff of earning early credits for higher education. 

“Paying for an AP class is risky, because you have to risk potentially not passing the test, which is money wasted,” remarked AP student Jocelyn Allen. “I think money is something that impacts students. And when I’m deciding, money impacts my decision when I’m choosing to take an advanced level class.”

All students deserve the challenge and the benefit of taking these classes, but the paywall at the beginning of the year can act as a blocker for some. This is a disheartening truth, especially considering the students that could supremely benefit from earning some college credits early and knocking a few thousand dollars off of their experiences may not be able to take these classes in the first place.

After the woes of class selection, students enjoy lunch as a time to refuel their bodies with food and their minds with conversation. Yet busy highschool students often either run out of time or forget to bring something from home. This leaves them to utilize the school’s cafeteria as their means of fuel for the day. 

“Packing a lunch in the morning can be difficult due to time constraints. However, having to fall back on the cafeteria for lunch is sometimes disappointing and expensive,” said junior Alexis Read.

In Masuk’s cafeteria, the average school lunch costs around $5. The school is charging students $5 for a school deli sandwich, or a basket of chicken tenders and fries. These prices are comparable to those at a baseball stadium. Paying that much to eat a school lunch that is certainly not gourmet and certainly not the healthiest is a financial burden that should not be taken lightly. Families who pay for regular school lunches throughout a 180 day school year are paying roughly $900 in lunch fees alone.

Many students, fed up with the constant replenishing of their accounts, let their fees build up to the hundreds. While this seems irresponsible, account fees reach a high far too quickly and should not be a burden placed on high schoolers.

After a long school day, some students stay on campus for a sports practice or club meeting. With all school sports comes a pay-to-play fee, usually racking in at over $300. These fees provide students with uniforms and gear, which is practical, but oftentimes disheartening when the quality and abundance of the materials provided to the teams comes into question.

Students who stay after for clubs are not free of the sneaky costs. For some Masuk clubs such as DECA, a student’s ability to participate depends on their ability to pay a membership fee. DECA, the Distributive Education Clubs of America, is a spectacular experience for all high school students. But it is one that not all students have equal access to. 

It is a reality that the school needs additional funds to run itself, and crucial programs like free and reduced lunch assist students in need. The average amount of money that students have to spend to make the most out of their highschool education is baffling.

We are all aware that being alive in this economy comes with its expenses. However, is high school the time where teenagers should have to come face to face with this issue?