Birmingham Schools Face Lawsuit Over Fees

A lawsuit filed against Birmingham Public Schools says the district is violating state policy which bars mandatory special fees.  

Gym clothes, combination locks, and student planners are all common purchases for back to school shoppers.

But the lawsuit, brought by parents of a sixth grader in Birmingham, says the district cannot require these annual purchases. 

Their suit points to a 1972 state policy barring mandatory special school fees.  The attorney representing the parents was unavailable for interview.  The lawsuit seeks more than 25 thousand dollars in damages.

Daniel Nerad is Birmingham’s School Superintendent.  He says "the fact of the matter is, that this is not an unusual practice.  The unfortunate part is that there really wasn’t an opportunity to really understand, from a district perspective, in front of the lawsuit, what the concerns were."

Nerad says he maintains an open door policy for any parent who has a problem with school policy.  

- Chris Zollars, Michigan Radio Newsroom