East Brunswick Student Says Tuition Barrier Keeping Kids Out Of Acclaimed Arts Program

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — An eighth-grade student is calling on the East Brunswick School District to stop charging tuition for a county arts program, saying the cost is driving students away before they ever get a chance to participate.

Juliet Lynn, a student at Churchill Junior High School, told district officials during the last Board meeting that East Brunswick is the only municipality in Middlesex County that requires students to pay out of pocket to attend Teen Arts. The a Wednesday program held at Middlesex College draws students from across the county to pursue advanced coursework in filmmaking, musical theater, creative writing, dance, painting and other disciplines.

Lynn, who has attended the filmmaking track for two years, described watching a room of roughly 30 interested students shrink to six after a program coordinator mentioned the cost at an interest meeting.

"East Brunswick is the only town that makes their students pay tuition for the program," Lynn said. "It is worth the money, and not everyone is as fortunate."

Lynn credited the program with teaching her how to operate professional cameras, understand real film sets and envision a career path — experiences she said are not available through the district's existing arts electives, which she described as single-level courses without access to professional equipment or advanced instruction.

She urged the district to subsidize or fully cover the cost of participation, as other districts in the county already do, so that students are not turned away by financial barriers.

"Those students will have a harder time finding and following their passion," Lynn said, "and some never will."

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