BELOIT — Antuan McClinton of Beloit has been planning for the beginning of the school year since the last one let out.

As a father of eight, budgeting for school expenses takes some careful planning.

“Especially when you’re in a situation where you have to get them all started, all at once,” McClinton said. “At the beginning of the school year, it’s a strain on any family.”

According to the National Retail Federation, back-to-school spending for kindergarten through 12th-grade in the United States this year is estimated to total $20.1 billion. But area parents will tell you that the costs don’t end there. Many Stateline families are facing increases in various school fees this year.

“I know that some of the families that have multiple students in the district do have trouble at the beginning of the year making all the fees,” said Amy Wald, president of the Parent Teacher Student Association at Robinson Elementary School in Beloit. “They’re paying $160 for a child to go to the high school.”

In the School District of Beloit, most fees — covering everything from sports and activities to parking and registration — remain the same this year.

“I’ve been here for four years, and they seem to be pretty steady,” said district spokeswoman Melissa Badger.

That is not the case in neighboring districts, however. Lunch prices have increased 25 cents in Rockton School District 140. The Beloit Turner and Hononegah districts also have seen increases. Schools say higher food costs are driving lunch prices higher.

“Food costs more to transport,” said Julia Saunders, the business manager of the Rockton district.

For students at Hononegah High School, registration costs also rose this year, from $150 to $170.

According to Kathy Zwirgzdas, business manager for the Clinton School District, fees increase slightly every year.

“We try to — rather than one large jump every five years — just go up a little bit every year,” she said. “The only exception was lunch prices; those remained constant.”

Other fee increases in Clinton are up 4 percent.

“For example, we have a book-rental fee in the elementary schools. That was $20 last year; this year it’s $21,” Zwirgzdas said.

The proliferation in Wisconsin school fees can be traced to 1994 legislation that capped local school spending, said Dale Knapp, research director with the Wisconsin Taxpayer Alliance.

“With the limits on the amount of revenue that districts can collect from property taxes ... one of the ways (for districts) to fill their budgets has been with fees,” Knapp said.

Fees don’t stop at the classroom door. Students are charged for extracurriculars and athletics, though many districts have a system in place to cap the number of activity fees per student or per family.

“They do cap that, so you don’t have to pay over and over again for every sport,” Badger said. “The families, same thing. They do cap (activity fees), so it doesn’t get too outrageous.”

Beloit also has a plan in place to limit such costs, and students who are in the free-and-reduced-lunch program are eligible for lower activity fees.

“If you’re on free-and-reduced, you can get (fee costs reduced) 50 percent,” said Mark Smullen, athletic director for Beloit Memorial.

He noted the school makes a point of not letting fees stand in the way of student participation. Families can file for hardship exceptions so that no student is left out of athletics because of the cost. So far, it seems to be working.

“I think there’s a growth with some of the sports,” Smullen said.

At Hononegah, higher fees have been the norm for several years.

“It’s $200 for the first sport, $100 for the second sport,” said high school Athletic Director Jay Lauscher. “This particular fee scale has been in place for five years.” He said families in the district have adjusted to the price and plan accordingly.

“They do restrict certain individuals, but it’s been my experience, over the last few years, that families have adjusted and start saving earlier,” Lauscher said. “Everything’s going up now, whether it’s the price of food, the price of gas, the price of clothes — everything’s more expensive.”

Wald believes such expenses are causing some families to limit the sports and activities in which their kids want to participate.

“Now, I think families are telling kids, ‘You have to choose which activities you want to do,’ because of the fees. You kind of have to pick and choose,” Wald said.

In order to help area families cut back on the expense of sending kids back to school, many organizations have organized school-supply drives over the last several weeks.

“I think there’s more of a need this year, with gas costs and grocery costs,” said Regina Dunkin, executive director of the Merrill Community Center. “We have so many people that are living day-to-day.”

The center recently distributed 350 backpacks filled with school supplies to area children.

“For me, I’ve noticed a difference this year,” Dunkin said. “We’ve had people come from as far away as Monroe (for free school supplies).”

Wald said parent-teacher organizations also try to keep school costs down by raising money for field trips.

Parents like McClinton are appreciative.

“Everything helps,” he said, adding his family uses local school-supply giveaways, and scours stores for deals to keep costs in check.

“Whatever it takes. (My wife) shops at the second-hand store … wherever you can find some deals,” he said. “Everybody doesn’t get what they want, but we do the best we can. You have to kind of make some sacrifices.”