I recently wrote this letter to the DRE of a congregation struggling with the issue of RE fees. I know this can be a divisive topic. The following is one set of views.

Dear,
Thanks for your questions about charging fees for RE programs. They are good questions about which there have been many discussions over the years. The following are my "takes" on various aspects of the issue including some of the specific Questions you asked.

Do other UU congregations charge fees?
Fifteen years ago there were many congregations, although certainly not a majority, which charged registration fees for their children's RE program. These were often earmarked as "materials" fees, most often meaning that they were meant to cover the costs of the hands-on supplies so important to children's learning. Over the years most congregations have dropped such fees for various reasons (as I will address). Some congregations still do have such charges. However, I think it is VERY important not simply to do what other congregations do. There have been many mistakes in congregations made by perpetuating unhelpful and unhealthful decisions made be others! I would instead recommend considering the following issues so that [your congregation] can make a reasonable, well considered decision of its own.

Is there a relationship between pledging and a materials fee?
I cannot find a study that uses actual data to answer this question, but my experience in and with congregations is that RE fees detract generally from a climate of generosity. If there were a LARGE number of families who did not pledge at all and had the resources to do so, it might make sense to set a small fee for nonpledgers with an option for waiver should family circumstances suggest that. Otherwise, the hard feelings about the issue and the overall message that religious education for children is not an integral part of the church and its programming are not worth the money that might come in from fees. The energy and/or money for bookkeeping and administrative efforts needed should also be considered. If all families with children, pledgers and nonpledgers, were charged I would predict that many families, some consciously and some subconsciously, will withhold significant increases in their future pledges.

Is there a philosophical issue involved?
You bet! Do we charge adults for the Sunday morning order of service? What about the coffee for the social action meeting? Should there be a separate fee for night adult programs because they need the lights on? Who pays for the flip chart paper for adult RE? Ridiculous questions. Our RE programs are the biggest part of our kids' experience of "church." Materials used in our programs provide the medium for their experience. If there were concurrently charges for adults attending events, charges for children's programs might be more appropriate. I, however, would tend to argue for no charges for any of us because we are all one in the overall ministry of the church. We are there for one another and for the ministry we take beyond our walls. Our children are part of us now. They are the transmitters of our faith into the future. It is hard to imagine that it is not part of a congregation's work to provide church experience for them in an age appropriate way, i.e. with appropriate programs and materials.

Do fees for children's programing affect the ways visitors view the church?
Again, I have no statistical data. There are studies, however, which indicate that families with children often seek affiliation with a religious institution because they want a religious home and religious education for those children. If fees are charged for RE (and not for everything else as well) we might question the message that is delivered to newcomers.

What are the advantages to charging fees for children's RE?
There is an immediate lessening of the current financial stress. The question to ask about this is: Is the amount the stress is lessened worth what we lose by doing it? Would an effort to attract X number of new pledging units offset the amount that would be gained by fees? In a period of years will we lose in overall income because we don't lift up our responsibility for and conscious community with children? Is it fair to balance the whole church budget by charging RE?
I doubt it but that is a question your board will need to wrestle with.

What does the UUA say about this issue?
Of course, because of our polity and because there is such a range of issues withing each congregation, they understand that there cannot be a general "UUA Policy" about this. Folks in the RE Department in Boston do raise many of the questions that I have suggested. However, they have lifted up that in those congregations that have decided to charge children's RE fees (or to continue charging them) a compromise has sometimes been to put a strict time line on the charging of those fees with explicit statements that this has been an emergency action and not a continuing policy.

I wish you and your congregation well as you struggle with this issue. I suspect that the debate holds not only dollars but also hearts and values. That is usually where we do our best and our hardest work.

In faith,
Susan