Student registration fees will increase by $10 and individual user fees will increase by $65 for all students for the 2025-2026 school year to offset the removal of credit card transaction fees and rising district expenses, Vicki Tarver, Director of Business Service and Board of Education Treasurer, said.

Overall, student fees will increase from $275 to $285 for freshman through juniors and from $175 to $185 for seniors; Driver’s Education Behind the Wheel program will increase from $350 to $400; individual bus passes will increase from $990 to $1,000; bus pass sibling rate will increase from $495 to $500; preschool tuition will increase from $1,000 to $1,100, according to a District 225 memo to the Board of Education.

While registration fees are used to offset the cost of instructional materials, user fees are subjective, meaning only students who participate in specific programs must pay the program specific fee, Tarver said.

“We’ve done a very good job at investing our resources to earn interest money,” Tarver said. “[Despite] that, we [still] have to find other [forms of] revenue.”

Because Visa no longer allows merchants, such as the district, to collect transaction fees, they will have to cover them, regardless of the bank, Tarver said. Additionally, district costs increase by two percent every year, whereas district expenditures increase seven percent every year, Tarver said.

South has some of the lowest student fees in the area, Tarver said. Additionally, the district offers many resources to families who might not be able to afford the fees.

“All students in the district can apply for free and reduced [fees],” Tarver said. “If they qualify, [they will] receive those benefits,” Tarver said.