Schools? What’s next? Pay to sit?

It certainly is not a good time to be a poor or low-income kid in public schools or even parents trying to make ends meet.

The odds are really stacking up against them as public education grows progressively more elitist with programs being implemented that make education increasingly unequal.

And now some schools are delivering the dagger — pay to play.

Shelton is the latest school district that is digging deeper into parents’ wallets for its 4,700 students.

The district will charge parents up to $300 for sports such as football, basketball, swimming, volleyball and more. Other sport activities such as tennis, track and field and cheerleading will cost $225 and participating in performing arts such as band, color guard, and the drama club will cost $100, Hearst Connecticut Media reports.

All of these costs are per child — though Shelton has graciously put a cap on its fees for families and low-income parents.

But why in the world should parents who are already taxed to death have to accept charity to educate their kids?

Disgraceful and shameful are the only words to describe this mockery of a free public education.

How are children supposed to learn, experience and prosper when educators are putting barriers in their way?

When I went to school, students were encouraged to take part in sports, band, choir and other extra curricular activities.

There was never a charge, except for the equipment needed to play a sport such as a helmet for football or baseball or an instrument to play in the band.

The idea that now children can’t discover our purple mountains majesty or run through the waves of grain unless their parents fork over some serious coin is disconcerting.

But it appears this is where education is heading.

The death knell for kids to be charged to play has been chiming around the country for years as it finds acceptance in more affluent districts.

But even parents who are not strapped for cash are finding it frustrating that their kids have to choose between activities such as joining the choir or playing volleyball.

Taxpayers are spending an enormous amount of money to educate our youth — and it seems unbelievable it is not enough to fund the basics.

And to heap this burden on struggling parents — some who are standing in food lines — is despicable.

I can’t help but wonder what’s next? Pay to get answers? Pay to recess? Pay to listen?

It takes a lot to overcome an impoverished childhood no matter the color of skin.

Education is not about books alone. Putting restraints on children’s future by limiting, or in some cases, taking away, the other possibilities should never have entered the conversation.

My column, “Education? I dropped out and have no regrets,” made it no secret that I am not a fan of a public education system that always seems entwined in a hailstorm of chaos.

But I didn’t write this column to knock teachers or school employees.

I wrote this column to show how ridiculous things are becoming in the world of education — a world that is supposed to be equal for all American students. I wonder how school personnel explains that to the kids they teach to treat everyone the same? What a joke.

If the word is ridiculous for what is happening now, then what’s the word for what is coming in the future?

Schools? What’s next? Pay to sit?