book fines

[Peggy Milam <p_milam@MVPSCHOOL.COM>]

Dear LM_NETTERS:
    Thank you for the overwhelming response to my question on book
fines. It seems that the vast majority of you who responded do charge
fines. The rates vary from a low of $.05 a day, not counting weekends
and holidays, to $.25 a day and more for items such as videos or books
in high demand. Some of you responded that fines have been eliminated in
lieu of charging the cost of replacing the book plus a handling fee
(handling fees ranged from a low of $2.00 to a high of $15) when the
book was not returned after reminders had been sent or it had been out a
month. A few responded that if a student owed a fine and truly could not
pay it, a work option was offered at the same rate as minimum wage. Some
schools reported holding report cards and school reports or not allowing
students to take final exams until all fines and were cleared and
overdue items returned or paid for .Almost all agreed that fines are
necessary to teach responsible use of school property and most felt that
it was reasonable to expect fines to help out with budgeting. Here are
some of the responses:

I think you should charge the fines.   I am also in a small private
school,
and we charge fines from the 3rd grade on up.  We charge 10 cents a day,
and
I think you should, too.  Explain your financial situation to the
parents,
kids, and teachers - they should  understand the need for the extra
money
and appreciate the little extras it might buy (I realize "processing"
isn't
that exciting, but maybe you could add stickers or bookmarks!) Carol

I instituted fines at my previous school (private high school) seven or
eight years ago because some students thought that they could check
books
out and keep them for as long as they wanted. The system we went to was
this: 10 cents/day fine, with the first three days waived if the book
was
returned within that time period. We had a few people who tried to get
around it, and some succeeded at first. I finally went to a system of
keeping a copy of the fine notice, with the dates each notice was sent
out.
That stopped those who claimed they didn't know anything about any
fines.

We charge .10 per day per book or video with 1-day grace and no charge
for holidays, weekends, days absent, etc.

Peggy, I have fines of 5 cents / day; $0.25 / day encyclopedia.
Principal's support is vital.

I charge fines in my school.  Our public library system charges fines.
Does
your's?  This is real life training.  My fines are much cheaper than the

public library.

Sure, we charge fines.  Ours are five cents per school day, with a
maximum fine of $2.00 or 1/4 the cost of the book, whichever is less.  I

moved our grace period up from one day to five, partly because
collecting
very small fines takes more time than it's worth, and partly because it
seems more fair, given that I only send out overdues once a week.
   I also charged fines in all the years I was an elementary school
librarian.  At all levels, there are some teachers who just won't help
on
overdues.  I try to compensate by posting lists in the halls, but
students
ignore them.
   I also sell pencils, pens, diskettes, and notebooks to raise a little

extra money.  The school provides about ten dollars per student, not
counting supplies and equipment.
   I hope your school director was supportive of your policy.

We charge $.25 per day for books and $.50 per day for magazines. They
need to return the materials, or renew it! We're talking personal
responsibility - real world stuff.

$.05 each school day.  We feel that the students need to learn respect
for
property and other students rights to information.  Public libraries
charge
fines, why should the school library be any different?


Thanks again to all who responded and I hope this information is useful
to any others who might be questioning the fine issue.

Peggy Milam p_milam@mvpschool.com
Mt. Vernon Pres. School
Atlanta, GA

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