MOORPARK : School Board Sets Aside Activity Funds

The Moorpark school board has delayed a decision on whether to stop charging fees to students who participate in extracurricular activities, but has already begun setting aside money that would help the programs continue without the student money.

The board recently put $50,000 in lottery funds into a newly created Co-Curricular Activities Fund that will help the district preserve its after-school activities even without student fees.

Board member Clint Harper said the district needs more time to review its attorneys’ recommendations on adopting a new policy.

Board members recently discovered that the district’s current practice of charging students involved in Moorpark athletic teams and other extracurricular activities is a violation of state law. The board next month is expected to consider a new policy banning such fees.

“Realizing that whatever the solution is is going to cost money, now is the time to put some money aside,” Harper said. “It’s not a matter of whether it’ll cost anything, it’s a matter of how much.”