Are the annual fees at EHS worth the tears of students’ crying wallets?

From a $175 parking pass to the cost of gym locks, EHS is racking up dough from unnecessary expenses spewing from the pockets of students and parents.

At registration, we’re told that the annual $100 fee is going towards textbooks, but in the majority of the classes that I’ve taken the last four years, I’ve been handed books that could be ancient scrolls. They’re outdated, torn and some are missing many pages, so where exactly is my money going?

Could it be buried under the new eye-catching turf of the football field? Perhaps.

If I were to lose one of these lovely textbooks, I would be fined $50. That’s pretty steep for a book that I could buy for less than $2 on Amazon, but regardless of my willingness to replace the ragged book, I would still be issued a fine.

What’s the point of paying more for a book than what it is really worth? That’s almost as unnecessary as PE uniforms.

Luckily for EHS students, we don’t have to wear school uniforms except when you take physical education. Then, you’re required to wear a pair of fashionable baggy shorts and a t-shirt that are sure to make a funky statement by day two of dressing out. During class, students must put their belongings in a locker, paired with a purchased lock.

I can understand the significance of a lock for PE class, but what I can’t get around is that I had to pay for an old lock every time I took the class.

Uniforms and locks are just a small amount of change that is spent at EHS.

When freshman and sophomores have obtained their amount of required PE classes, they have more to worry about than a measly lock. Those of them who choose to drive to school must pay for a parking pass much more expensive than the textbook they may have lost back in freshman year.

Pressure is added to parents who are putting their children through school.

Senior Kymel Bell thinks the fees should be reduced because the current prices don’t take into account that some parents have more than one student attending high school.

Bell isn’t the only senior that has reflected on the amount of money that it costs to be an EHS student.

“I think it’s pricey in comparison to other schools and what they have to offer…It’s kind of unnecessary, in my opinion, what they require,” Former Webster High student and first-year EHS student senior Joi Johnson said.

EHS is definitely on the pricey side for a public school, but I suppose that’s what you’d expect when attending the “premier high school in the state of Illinois.”