At the OP,s pricepoint my advice would be to stay clear of suspension all together. Very cheap suspension forks do not work well and are not very durable, and why would you want one just for riding to school or on leisure rides ? A rigid fork will last a long time (even the headset if you keep it adjusted) but IMO cheap suspension forks only add weight and possible trouble.
Bikesdirect seems like a great consept to me, what about this one:
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...cane_elite.htm