Yavapai County Supervisor Jack R. Smith has announced that at the upcoming Budget Study Session he will request the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors waive the Community Health Services Environmental Health inspection fees for all public schools in Yavapai County.
The fees to be waived include inspection of school cafeterias, school grounds, school pools and Booster Club food concessions stands.
According to a press release, “The cuts to our school funding over many years have had serious consequences to our educational system. Educators are faced with immense challenges that don’t need to include paying fees to the very governmental agency that funds them. The countywide cost being paid by our public schools and/or districts currently is about $25,000 and once the new fees are adopted, it would raise them to approximately $40,000. Yavapai County is already prorating these costs. Since these inspections are state required, Supervisor Smith noted he will be asking the state to provide funding back to the county to cover the cost of the inspections.
“Public schools in Yavapai County need to be given the ability to focus on education and allocate their limited funds for their greatest needs, education of our children,” Supervisor Smith said. “We need to put the money back in the classrooms and have government assume responsibility for these inspections.”
