Tuition

Most Families Qualify for Florida Scholarships

Lakeside Christian School participates in the Step Up for Students scholarship program, which helps many Florida families significantly reduce the cost of private education. Our admissions team is happy to help you understand your eligibility and walk you through the application process.

As of June 2023, the state of Florida has a variety of scholarships available to all Florida residents with K-12 students, regardless of income.

All of our enrolling parents are required to access a Florida scholarship to help cover their tuition and fee costs at Lakeside Christian in order for their enrollment to be accepted.

Florida Residents: To find out more information about the state scholarships for private schools, please visit the Step Up for Students Scholarship website linked below.

Scholarship Website: stepupforstudents.org

Please note: Scholarship applications often take 2-6 weeks before you receive approval. Lakeside will move forward with enrollment with proof provided of a submitted scholarship application.

The state scholarship amounts are typically less than our listed annual tuition amount per child. Every private school has the unique ability to create its own tuition program utilizing the amount of scholarship funds the state annually approves. Lakeside has a three-tiered program based on parent income using the state scholarships to cover some or all of the tuition and fees.

Tier 1
Tier 1 – Parents who currently receive State and/or Federal Assistance (SNAP). Proof of receipt of benefits is required. With your SNAP benefit proof provided, the annual state scholarship awards will cover 100% of tuition and the DT Fees. We will guide you through the process of validating your benefits to ensure a smooth experience.

Tier 2
Tier 2 – Parents with an Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) below $100,000, who do not receive any state or federal (SNAP) benefits. Proof of your AGI from your prior year tax return is required. The state scholarship award will cover 100% of your student(s) tuition only. Parents are responsible for DT fees and all enrollment fees.

Tier 3
Tier 3 – Parents with an Adjusted Gross Income above $100,000 but less than $140,000. The state scholarship award will cover a significant amount of your student(s) tuition, but parents will pay the remaining tuition. The parent is also responsible for all fees. A copy of your prior year tax return is required to validate youru AGI.

A Tier 3 parent is responsible for the following per student tuition amount in addition to the annual state scholarship amount.

• Student 1 $1200 (youngest child enrolled)
• Student 2 $900 (next oldest child)
• Student 3 $600 (next oldest child)
• Student 4+ $0 (next oldest)

Tier 4
Tier 4 – Parents with an Adjusted Gross Income above $140,000. Parents will pay the following tuition above the full annual state scholarship amount, along with all fees. A copy of your prior year tax return is required to validate youru AGI.

A Tier 4 parent is responsible for the following per student tuition amount in addition to the annual state scholarship amount.

• Student 1 $5000 (youngest child enrolled)
• Student 2 $4000 (next oldest child)
• Student 3 $3000 (next oldest child)
• Student 4+ $0 (next oldest)

Lakeside covers the cost for a student’s 2 High School level Foreign Language courses. LCS may cover the cost for a course a High School Student requests that meets a Core Requirement when LCS cannot meet a particular scheduling need. LCS does not cover the FLVS costs for any credit recovery course or for a course not required for graduation. Parents must pay for any additional Virtual Course before the class begins at the current FLVS cost.

All tuition plus fee and service charges must be paid monthly. Payment terms are listed on your tuition agreement.

LCS reserves the right to impose any or all of the following restrictions on parents with a past-due balance:

• No student may return to class after any quarter or semester break until all outstanding tuition balances plus accrued late charges are paid. All student records will be archived until a student is reinstated upon the clearing of payment with the school’s bank.
• Participation in after school or after care activities will be suspended if there are past-due balances for these non-tuition services more than 45 days in arrears. You are responsible to check ParentsWeb to view balances.
• During the 4th quarter, parents having accounts with past-due amounts over $1000 will be asked to keep their students home until past-due amounts have been paid.
• The school reserves the right to ask a parent who has been habitually late with payments to pay the past-due amount plus the remaining balance to the end of the school year to maintain enrollment.
• No student records will be released until final payments are received and checks have cleared.
• All past-due amounts unpaid as of June 15 will accumulate either a $45 per month late fee or will be assessed a 21% interest charge compounded on a monthly basis depending on which is the higher penalty.

Parents with past-due balances will not be able to add new incidental charges to their parent accounts until they are current with the school. If you have past-due balances and you wish to purchase uniforms, sports fees, lunch/snack items, etc, you will be required to pay for those things at the time of purchase. In the case of sport fees, your child may turn out for the sport until the first game. If the sport fee is not paid by the first game, your student will be withheld from practice and game play until the fee is paid. Exceptions to this policy will be when a parent has signed a promissory note on the past-due debt, has met the requirements of the note, and their balance is below $250.

Currently, Lakeside accepts online payments through Paypal. You can also pay tuition directly in the school office via cach, check, or debit/credit card.