You paid for it.

From new clothes and shoes to school supplies, parents know back to school time means time to break out the checkbook.

For many families, though, the toughest check to write is the one they write to the public school district. Every school district we checked charges lots of fees…and they add up real quick.

In Greendale, if you want your kid to play in the band, the district charges up to $60 to rent an instrument. Soccer or tennis in Waukesha? Families pay $75 per sport with a $225 family cap.

Public school parents are the first to tell you, their kids’ free education, isn't exactly free.

"I think it's ridiculous that we do pay so much," said Racine mother of six, Sandy Kind. “If we do pay that much in taxes, why do we have to pay extra for the education that the kids should get automatically?"

Like the all-encompassing resource fee for books and materials: nearly every district charges one, some as high as $100 or more. There are also technology fees, club fees, even fees to rent locks for lockers.

"It's a tough call," said Demond Means, superintendent of the Mequon-Thiensville School District. "We struggle every time we look at the fees. We don't want to charge the fees."

Means also said districts don't have much choice.

"Why would we pass those fees on to the entire community? They're more user fees," Means said.

The Racine Unified School District, like other districts in our area, actually charges students to rent the books they use…up to $17 bucks a semester.

"I can understand the schools charging for some sports fees, but books and things like that, I don't think that they should be charging for that," said Racine parent Gino Stacy.

Overall, Racine's fees are relatively low.

"We try to keep them reasonable," said RUSD's Communications Director Stephanie Hayden. "We know families are stretched, and budgets are tight right now."

It's not just parents counting their pennies.

"If we didn't have those fees, either we wouldn't be able to offer those extracurricular activities to students, or we would be cutting into some of the classroom budgets, which we definitely don't need to be doing," explained Hayden.

The highest fee we found is for parking: Mequon charges students who drive $300 a year for a spot in their high school's lot.

Fees at Milwaukee Public Schools vary from school to school but are relatively low.

The good news is districts will, in most cases, waive all of the fees for families who qualify.