QUINCY, ILL. -- It will cost you more money to take drivers education through the Quincy Public School District.
Wednesday night, the Quincy School Board voted to raise the fee from $50 to $250.
Superintendent Lonny Lemon told KHQA that that amount doesn't come close to covering the district's actual cost, which is more than $1400.
Lemon says the General Assembly allows districts to charge more than $250, but the Quincy School Board didn't want to charge more than that.
He said many students already are using local driving schools outside of the district, which cost about $500.
"Given our tough times and the board having to make difficult fiscal decisions, we've cut $11 million the last three years, this is one area we thought we'd at least try to recoup some of our cost," Lemon said. "We felt we had to raise it, but we also wanted to make it competitive and keep as many in house as we could."
Students who qualify for free or reduced lunch are eligible for a waiver for the drivers education course.
The Quincy School Board also agreed to make an existing $2.6 million loan from the Working Cash Fund to the Educational Fund a permanent transfer.
The board also extended Superintendent Lonny Lemon's contract for another year.
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