Montgomery County school officialsare stepping in to guarantee that no students at Potomac’s Winston Churchill High School will be made to pay for their own textbooks, in keeping with state code for public schools.
Parents of students say they have received letters for several years insinuating that purchasing the texts was a requirement for Advanced Placement social studies and art history courses, but school officials have maintained it was simply a miscommunication.
Now, Sherry Liebes, community schools superintendent for the area, said she is working with Churchill administrators to draft a letter informing parents that the schools will provide textbooks for students.
“I’m working very closely with the Churchill administration to change what has been a practice and to clarify things for the community,” Liebes said. “This is not going to be an expectation for the fall. We’re going to provide the textbooks, but if a student wants to purchase one, there’s no prohibition on that.”
Liebes and Board of Education member Patricia O’Neill said the Montgomery County school system requires schools to provide the core textbooks required for classes.
Churchill parent Janis Sartucci said she wrote an e-mail to the Board of Education after spending $144 in textbooks so her son could take AP psychology and AP world history courses.
“There’s actually a state law that says students will be provided textbooks,” Sartucci said. “Part of your public education is that texts will be provided. What about Churchill High School grants them an exception?”
Parent Alfred Jordan said his children feared “retribution” from school officials if they declined to purchase the books.
“The way it’s told to us is that you buy the books or you’re not allowed to go to the class,” Jordan said, adding that his children worried their grades would be affected or their access to the AP classes would be denied if they did not purchase the materials specified in the letter.
A communication to prospective 2007-08 AP social studies students gave students three options: buy books from the school, buy a used copy from another student if the same edition is being used, or buy them through the publisher or Amazon.com. The bottom of the
letter directed students who could
not purchase the text to see a teacher.
Liebes maintained that purchasing the books was an option, but never a mandate, for students who wanted to “gain more of the college experience.”
