School fees?

Public school
n. 1. An elementary or secondary school in the United States supported by public funds and providing free education for children of a community or district.

This past week we ran a story about fees being charged to students at our public high schools.

We are baffled by the fact that students going to a public high school, paid for by community taxes, have to pay a fee to park their cars in the schools’ parking lots.

When the schools were built and parking was planned for students, wasn’t that included in the overall cost of the school? Why do parents/students have to pay to go to a so-called free public high school? We get that there is probably not enough space for every student driver to have their own spot, but should students have to pay $40 every year for a parking spot or should that fee be included in what parents already pay through taxes? (To note, other school systems around the metro area charge upwards of $100 for a parking spot, but still.)

The other fee is for the prom. Why does the school have to be in charge of collecting this? Shouldn’t the students who want to have the prom be responsible for collecting the money from those who wish to go? What about those Newton High School kids who don’t want to go to prom but have to pay for other to do so through their all-inclusive $100 fee?
This was the practice in the good ole days; it seems to us it is high time we bring some of those days back.