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Sometimes it’s the little things that remind of us bigger problems. Take the Rocori school district as an example.

Faced with increasing enrollment, crowded conditions and a constituency unwilling to provide more resources, its school board this week decided to make mandatory what had been some optional student fees.

Effective next month, all Rocori students will have to pay $10 for supplies used in classroom projects that students can take home. High school students who take courses focusing on computers and science labs will have to pay another $10, while elementary and middle-school students will be charged $5 for such classes.

These fees are in addition to the expectation that students also provide individual supplies such as notebooks, folders and calculators.

Now granted, paying an extra $5, $10, $15 or even $25 probably won’t break most families’ budgets. And in Rocori’s case, not only were many families already paying these fees when they were optional, but the district is seeking to create a “family cap” to limit the burden.

Still, what does the need for a school district having to implement fees for basic supplies say about how we fund education?

We believe it confirms yet again that this is a sad time for public education in Minnesota.

Districts should not be forced to resort to nickel-and-dime tactics to make sure students have adequate classroom supplies, especially when state and federal testing mandates for tests, scores and related reports undoubtedly eat into all districts’ resources.

To say nothing of recent legislative calls to make sure a certain percentage of every tax dollar is spent directly on classrooms.

Perhaps what’s saddest of all is this fee-based mentality has become commonplace.

Look no further than Minnesota’s own tax code. Since 1995, the state has offered tax credits and deductions for certain families relating to their out-of-pocket costs for educational expenses such as textbooks, instructional materials and other school expenses.

But it doesn’t end there. Since 2002, the federal tax code has allowed teachers and other educators to deduct up to $250 worth of classroom supplies they have bought with their own money.

Indeed, according to the latest scientific survey of Education Minnesota members, about 57 percent of its teachers spend at least $200 annually on supplies.

Think about that.

The federal government has long acknowledged states are responsible for covering what it costs to provide residents with a basic education. Minnesota’s own Constitution clearly states that, too.

Yet both governments’ tax codes allow residents, indeed even teachers, to deduct their out-of-pocket educational expenses. Doesn’t that essentially admit government isn’t meeting its obligations?

Sure, people — especially politicians — can argue all day about the causes of those obligations. But at the end of the day, if things don’t change, Minnesota students and their families will just end up having to pay more fees out of their own pocket.

http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060818/OPINION/108180002/1006/NEWS01