Category : Op-Ed

While we all like to believe that the actions of our school, with regards to the required purchase of books, workbooks, and other study supplements, costly athletics fees, and prerequisites for taking Advanced Placement classes, are legal, students may be uninformed. Certain prices, fees, and payments at Tesoro are actually optional, despite numerous strong urgencies for students and their families to pay up.

At the beginning of the year at registration, with parents standing by clutching their checkbooks and ballpoint pens, there are opportunities for students to purchase their own textbooks and foreign language workbooks. Perhaps it is not stressed enough that these opportunities are just that: opportunities, optional opportunities. The school administration stresses this point, but they are unaware of some of the pressure students receive from certain teachers to purchase their own study supplements. Though most students would prefer to have their own workbook to write in and study from, the same workbooks are available for loan in the school library. If the student would prefer to check out a foreign language workbook rather than paying for his own, he can check it out and in with the rest of his textbooks. Also, while it does not seem to be a problem at Tesoro, other high schools have experienced issues in English classes, whose teachers require students to purchase their own novels. If any teachers at Tesoro have the same requirement, know that this is illegal. Because Tesoro is a public school and thus offers students a free education, it cannot require students to purchase any of their own books.

The Tesoro Athletics program is a fierce one; we have strong athletes, competitive teams, and powerful Boosters for each of our programs. But regardless of the competition in each program, every student at Tesoro has the chance to play. Since the administration turned fundraising responsibilities over to the Boosters, the integrity of fundraising for teams has begun to slip. Said Dr. Daniel Burch, Principal, about legal fundraising, “Groups are looking for ways around [it] instead of honoring [it].” As a result of the dwindling economy, fundraising has become more difficult for programs, so they have made fundraising a requirement to play. With required ‘fundraising fees’ and payments for ‘spirit packs,’ the price to play becomes expensive. However, many (if not all) programs forget to share that all payments to play are optional. If you cannot afford prices for spirit packs, scholarships are available, but fundraising is not a fee. Athletic programs at Tesoro need to realize the illegality of their actions and fix it before it becomes more of a problem. Still, if the people want to see Tesoro continue their reign of premier athletics programs, the community needs to stand behind these programs and help them by participating in fundraisers and donating to teams to keep them afloat.

Finally, a certain contract in AP English Language and Composition has created a scene at Tesoro. The contract, signed by students and parents at the beginning of the year, required that students take (and pay for) the AP test as a prerequisite for taking the class. In other words, to take the class, you needed to pay $92.00 for a test. This could be taken further to mean that a student was required to pay $92.00 to take a class provided by a public high school during school hours on the campus. Public school education is supposed to be free, so this contract is not a legal contract. (The contract has been made void in the last week.) While some argue that because classes at colleges could range anywhere from hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars, $92.00 is a great deal for college credit. However, with the rising competition in high school and college and the economic problems these days, fewer colleges are offering credit for high AP test scores. Still, if a student wants to take an AP test but his or her family cannot afford it, the school offers scholarships, but perhaps this is not known widely enough among students. (If you cannot afford to take any AP tests, but you do wish to take them, see Ms. Lisa Wada in the Guidance Office.) While the cost of the AP test is high, none of the money goes to Tesoro. Capistrano Unified School District does receive $5.00 of the $92.00, but this money is used to fund on-sight testing, supplies and professional proctors. Above all, the administration emphasizes that these tests are provided for students as an option, never a requirement.

To conclude, while the administration at Tesoro seems to be handling the ACLU settlement with ease and all payments are legal, students and their families are not always receiving all the information when they are asked to write another check. Tesoro High School is a public school, and therefore every student’s education is free. Some students have been able to participate in activities due to generous donations from the community. “You’d be surprised how many students are on scholarships,” said Mr. Sean McNamara, Vice Principal. While there are certain things the school can require payment for (like transportation fees and prices for school lunches or field trips), books are not a required purchase, athletics are open for all students to participate in, no matter their family’s financial need, and AP tests are options, not requirements.