One week after Fulton County Schools opened Aug. 3, families at North Springs High School and Riverwood International Charter School are logging into the district's SchoolCash Online portal to find fee after fee: meals, parking permits, senior dues, band, athletics. No single page at either school lists what a full year of participation actually costs.

A North Atlanta Star investigation published Sunday, Aug. 9, found that families at comparable Fulton County high schools can spend more than $1,000 annually on charges that never appear on a tuition bill. Reporter Tsvi Jolles documented how some costs surface only after a student earns a roster spot or a parent logs into the payment portal.

The same dynamics apply at Sandy Springs' two public high schools. Here's what is publicly known for 2026-27:

Meals: A full-price high school lunch in Fulton County costs $3.35 per day, up 25 cents from last year. Over 180 school days, that's $603. Add breakfast and the annual bill reaches roughly $936.

Senior dues at North Springs: The school's website lists an April 3 deadline for senior dues with a late fee. Students who hadn't paid by Feb. 12 were excluded from a Chick-fil-A breakfast event. The specific dollar amount for the Class of 2027 is not posted publicly.

Parking: Riverwood's homepage lists student parking permits as an active item for 2026-27, but neither school publishes the permit price on its main website.

Summer Bridge: North Springs charged incoming freshmen $50 for its June bridge program. Transportation and lunch were not provided.

The amounts add up.

In a 2024 report, the Sandy Springs Arts Foundation said Fulton County Schools provides roughly $1 per student for visual and performing arts supplies against an estimated need of $6. Both North Springs and Riverwood were described as close to Title I status.

The pattern matches what Jolles found across the district: "The hardest figure for a family to obtain may be the total itself," he wrote. "Some prices are visible only after a student earns a place on a team, receives parking approval or a parent signs into a payment portal."

For families who qualify, help exists but isn't always easy to find. Sandy Springs Education Force covers SAT/ACT fees and college application costs for economically disadvantaged seniors at both schools through its SAIL and Senior Push programs. Sandy Springs Mission serves more than 450 students across five local schools, including North Springs and Riverwood, with a focus on Latino families eligible for free and reduced lunch.

The fee question lands in a tighter fiscal environment. Fulton County Schools adopted a $2.3 billion budget for 2026-27 carrying a $56.9 million deficit. Chief Financial Officer Marvin Dereef told the board in June that the district "successfully reduced an initial projected budget gap of approximately $95 million down to $57 million while maintaining core services." North Springs is also one of four pilot schools for the district's new "Find Your Future at Fulton" non-resident tuition program, which charges out-of-district families $11,000 per year. Meanwhile, the county has not yet certified its 2026 tax digest, and property tax revenue funds more than 60% of the district's operating budget.

Both schools are listed for capital improvements under a $2.095 billion ESPLOST referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot.

The Fulton County Board of Education holds a work session Tuesday, Aug. 11, at the North Learning Center, 450 Northridge Pkwy. in Sandy Springs. The next full board meeting is Aug. 20 at the South Learning Center in Union City.