POSTED AUGUST 31, 2010
New Fees to Be Charged for High School Sports Participation and Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Tests
The approved budget for the 2010-11 school year includes two new types of student fees: a $100 athletic administrative fee (AAF) charged per student, per sport for participation in Virginia High School League sports and a $75 fee for each Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) test. Both fees are nonrefundable and will be waived for students eligible for the federal free or reduced-price meal program. Parents and guardians with children eligible for the federal program received the application form for the 2010-11 school year in August and are urged to submit the application authorizing their children to receive all eligible benefits.
Payment Options
Collection of these fees will be through a centralized billing process. Parents and guardians will receive an invoice by U.S. mail and will be instructed to send their payments to a post office box administered by Bank of America (not to the student's school). Billing for the new athletic fee (AAF) will take place three times during the school year after the team rosters are finalized (September, December, and February) There is no relationship between the AAF and a guarantee of playing time. Playing time is at the sole discretion of the head coach and his or her staff. The funds collected from the AAF will directly support the student activities and athletics program. Invoices for AP and IB testing fees will be mailed in November.
Payments can be made by check, money order, or credit card. Parents and guardians will also have the option to make payments electronically using a credit card, a debit card, or an e-check through a Bank of America website.
Information about the online payment option will be included on the billing invoice sent to parents and guardians. VISA and MasterCard will be the accepted cards for payment. Parents and guardians can access the website and then use the invoice number on the bill and the student’s date of birth to log on in order to initiate the online payment process. The payment process is similar to any other online payment method. A print receipt function will be provided to acknowledge payment for any of the online payment options.
A link to the new online fee payment website will also be added to the Especially for Parents section of the FCPS website (target launch date is September 15), which can be found at http://www.fcps.edu/parents.htm. The link will be listed as "Athletic and AP, IB Testing Fee Payments."
For more information, contact the Financial Support Team at 571-423-3636, option 2.
May 21, 2010
On May 20, 2010 the Fairfax County School Board finalized the FY 2011 budget. This budget will impact athletics and activities in several ways:
• A $100 per sport, per student Athletic Administration Fee (AAF) will be charged for participation in all VHSL athletics.
• The funds collected from the AAF will directly support the Student Activities and Athletics Program (SAAP) budget which exceeds $21 million system wide.
• The drill team supplement has been eliminated. Many schools use this supplement to support a dance team sponsor.
• Winter cheer has been eliminated (fall sideline and competitive cheer will continue)
• Swim practices using Fairfax County Park Authority pools have been reduced by one day (from 4 days per week to 3).
• Significant modifications will be made to the current athletic transportation protocols. Transportation will continue to be provided.
• The AAF will be waived for students who are eligible for free and reduced-price meals.
• There is no relationship between the AAF and a guarantee of student playing time. Playing time is at the sole decision of the Head Coach and his/her staff.
AAF billing and collection details will be provided over the next few weeks. No payments should be made at this time. It is expected that an online payment system will be available by the 2011 spring season.
For further information please refer to the approved budget available here:
