Princeton Students Could Face New Activity Fee Under Policy Introduced At BOE Meeting

PRINCETON, NJ — The Princeton Public Schools Board of Education approved the first reading of a student activity fee policy at its June 16 meeting, as the district moves to generate approximately $200,000 in additional revenue for the 2026-2027 school year.

Under the proposed policy, students at Princeton Middle School would pay a one-time $100 fee per year, while Princeton High School students would pay $150. The fee would cover unlimited participation in any board-funded extracurricular activity or athletic program. Students receiving free or reduced lunch would receive an automatic waiver.

Superintendent Mike LaSusa outlined the plan during his report to the board.

"The policy calls for a $100 activity fee at the middle school for any extracurricular activity that is board funded, and a $150 fee at the high school level for any extracurricular activity that is board funded to some extent — so that would include all athletics and extracurricular clubs that students might be involved with," LaSusa said.

"A family would have to pay the fee one time, and that would entitle a student to participate in as many clubs or activities or athletic programs as they would like."

Harris said the payment mechanism will be available on the district website beginning around the start of fall athletics, which he said gets underway around Aug. 10. Additional communication will come from both his office and building principals.

The board also bid farewell to two departing student board members, Ani Betancourt and Ash Nieman, both of whom completed a year of service before graduating.

In other business, the board approved the adoption of two new AP-level textbooks for the high school — a statistics text and a history of African Americans text — at a combined cost of $35,300.

It also approved preschool private provider contracts with the Burke Foundation Early Childhood Center at the Princeton YWCA for $1,395,540 and the Princeton Community Family Learning Center for $697,770 for the 2026-2027 school year.

The district also approved a transfer of up to $6 million into capital reserve and up to $2 million into maintenance reserve from anticipated current year surplus.

Harris closed his remarks on an optimistic note, with Princeton High School graduation two days away.

"Arriving at this point two days before high school graduation is a wonderful feeling, and I think it's been a very productive, stable, positive year overall in the district," he said.

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