When Dennis Williams went to Las Lomas High School circa 1963, school was free: the classes, parking for his '53 Hudson Hornet, even the sports jerseys.

Imagine the sticker shock when he registered his daughter Ariel Buck at Ygnacio Valley High School in Walnut Creek.

In one loop around the gym -- plastered with signs that read "cash or check" -- Williams ended up shelling out nearly $250. At one point, he left to find a cash machine because the $200 in his wallet failed to cover all the costs, including $10 for report-card postage and locker maintenance.

"Your property taxes paid for those things, I thought," he said.

To parents like Williams, a free education doesn't seem all that free anymore, considering the fees and donations that schools demand of families.

It costs $300 to wrestle at San Ramon Valley High School, and $130 to batter up at Acalanes High in Lafayette, not including money for transportation, uniforms and training camps. The donation for marching band at Northgate High School in Walnut Creek comes to $400.

Fees vary school to school, raising questions not only of equity but also of legality. The California Constitution guarantees a free education. Despite that, many campuses, particularly in affluent areas, have shifted toward asking for money, not only for extracurriculars but for classes such as English and science.

"Our public schools, they're supposed to be free, but they're not," said Janet Hayhurst, who expects to spend at least $1,000 this year on classes, sports and other school fees for her two children at College Park High School in Pleasant Hill.

Mandatory fees illegal

In most cases, charging mandatory school fees for classes or activities goes against state law, said Gary Kreep, a Miramonte High School graduate and executive director of the United States Justice Foundation. The nonprofit group has sued the Claremont, Escondido and Los Angeles school districts in Southern California over school fees for student identification cards, books and cheerleading outfits.

"A free public education means just that: a free education," Kreep said. "No fees, no nada."

State regulations forbid charging for what is an "integral part" of a student's education. In 1984, the state Supreme Court said that means no fees for extracurricular activities such as sports or electives such as music.

Schools also cannot demand that students raise a certain amount of money to participate in an activity or ask for a donation and then penalize students who do not pay.

"That's strictly illegal," Kreep said.

Those that stray from these rules have paid the price. In 2001, a Superior Court judge ordered the Pasadena school district to reimburse parents for illegal charges, part of a settlement brokered by the Justice Foundation. In 2005, the Butte County Grand Jury ordered the Chico school district, which withheld diplomas from students with outstanding balances, to refund fees to families.

Despite laws against mandatory education fees, no law exists that prevents schools from begging for cash.

"A school can ask for all the donations they want," Kreep said.

Check, please

Ever since voters approved the property-tax-cutting initiative Proposition 13 in 1978, campuses increasingly have turned to parents to keep athletics, music and classes intact.

Hayhurst expects to pay $250 for daughter Kaley, 14, to play water polo and $500 for son Travis, 17, to play lacrosse at College Park. During registration, she wrote out $220 in checks for yearbooks, associated student body cards and locker fees. Last week, teachers sent Kaley home with forms asking for donations: $10 for biology and $30 for photography.

"I don't mind paying for a yearbook," Hayhurst said. "But when you start getting all the fees for the classes, it starts adding up."

Expenses rack up in the lower grades, too. Pine Valley Middle School in San Ramon asks students to pay $20 each for choir, science and foreign language. Valle Verde Elementary School suggested that fourth-grade students bring antibacterial wipes, Kleenex, and a Franklin Spelling Ace, an electronic dictionary that retails for close to $30.

"It's getting worse, not better, in terms of what the parents have to supply," said Nancy Campbell, who sent three of her four children through Mt. Diablo schools. Her youngest, Katie, attends Northgate High as a sophomore.

With college tuition from older children already eating a hole in her pocket, Campbell drew the line this year: She bought a yearbook for $65 and paid $250 so Katie can play water polo.

If Campbell had paid the $180 to the parent/faculty club and all of Katie's class fees, she would have been out an additional $260.

"I want to give that extra," Campbell said. "But I just couldn't come up with it all."