PORTLAND, Ore. -- Late fees have always been a popular punishment for video rentals, library books and credit cards, but a Portland school has started to charge a fee for parents who fail to pick up their children from school on time.

Woodmere Elementary School in southeast Portland issued the warning to parents this week: show up late and pay the price.

The new policy is listed in the school's weekly newsletter. When students are dismissed, parents will have a 10-minute grace period. Beginning at 3:10 p.m., the school will charge parents $5 for every 10 minutes they're late to pick up their child.

Hannah Evans, whose child is in kindergarten at Woodmere, opposes the fee.

"That's harsh. I think there's something different that they could do other than charge you money," Evans said. "It's hard enough with school supplies, but to start charging for being late? I don't think that's fair."

School officials call it a "child care fee." Matt Shelby, a spokesman with Portland Public Schools, said it is aimed at a handful of parents who have been chronically late to pick up their child.

"It's about a tool the school can use to really keep kids from staying at school over and over and over," Shelby said.

Shelby said there will be exceptions for parents with a legitimate excuse. Woodmere Elementary School hopes the late fee will provide an incentive for parents to show up on time. Parent Andrea Hawk said the fee may work.

"If I knew that that was the case then I would definitely have to make sure that I had arrangements for them," Hawk said.

District officials said there are still many wrinkles to be ironed out. They weren't sure how the fines would be handed down or how payment would be enforced. On Thursday, all parents showed up on time to pick up their children.

"The policy went into effect today and everybody was on time," Shelby said.

While it's not a district-wide policy, Portland Public Schools administrators said they'll study the effectiveness of the fees. Depending on the results, they may institute it at other schools.

School Charges Parents Fee For Being Late