Toledo Public Schools students could get a brief reprieve from paying some class fees next fall thanks to extra money in a district fund.

The school board’s finance committee recommended the full board vote Tuesday to reduce or eliminates fees for pupils taking dozens of classes.

Treasurer Ryan Stechschulte said the district can afford a one-year fee vacation because the school fee fund currently boasts a $290,000 balance. The temporary discounts would drop the amount in the account to about $30,000, he estimated.

He said the district traditionally establishes fee rates in the spring, well before the start of the next school year, and the actual cost of items purchased is often less than estimated because of shipping savings or price fluctuations.

“Over the course of time, these little adjustments [that] have occurred have built up balances,” he said.

Fees are charged for items that a student consumes or takes home — such as a French workbook, magazine subscription, or art supplies such as clay. Most fees apply to high school classes, including many elective courses.

The district already waives fees for students who can’t afford to pay.

The proposal for the 2017-18 school year wipes out fees for foreign language classes including Chinese, French, German, Russian, and Spanish. Students last year were charged up to $32.95 for a Russian workbook. This year they would pay nothing.

Science fees, which last year ranged from $3 for safety goggles to $15 for a chemistry lab fee, also would drop to zero next year, as would some fees charged for business technology classes.

Fees for many art classes would be lowered but not eliminated because there’s not as much built-up surplus to cover that program, Mr. Stechschulte said.

A $30 per semester fee for a painting class would be cut in half. The amount charged for some ceramics, metal and jewelry, and sculpture classes also would drop.

Mr. Stechschulte said the district is tightening controls to require programs that use supplies to provide more detail about the cost of the item they want students to purchase so that future fees are more accurate.

“If they are going to get a supply, they need to let us know what the supply is,” he said, at a recent finance committee meeting.

Board member Bob Vas- quez, who chairs the finance committee, stressed that if the district does slash fees next school year, communication to parents needs to be clear that it is not a permanent reduction.

When fees do return, some parents might think of them as new charges, he said.

“I can see those questions coming up,” Mr. Vasquez said. “With my short memory, now you’re imposing a new fee...,” he said.

Contact Vanessa McCray at: vmccray@theblade.com or 419-724-6065, or on Twitter @vanmccray.

First Published June 26, 2017, 4:00 a.m.