Participation fees for high school athletics appear to be here to stay. To what extent have they infiltrated local schools?
The concept of “pay to play” has not appealed to athletic officials for the past 30 or so years since it was first proposed to help finance interscholastic sports. But the concept eventually became reality as school budgets were scrutinized and, in many cases, reduced in recent years.
The MHSAA surveyed 514 member schools, and 260 of them, over 50.5 percent, indicated that they charged participation fees during 2011-12. The previous school year, the percentage was 50.4.
Clark Huntey, Morley Stanwood athletic director, said that his school has assessed a fee for eight years. It’s called an athletic fee and is $75 per sport, capped at $150 per student. The cost did not increase this year.
Fees probably cover 5-10 percent of the costs of athletics; the school covers the remaining costs, Huntey said. Boosters only cover items above and beyond what the school can afford, and Huntey expects fees to continue at his school.
Big Rapids athletic director Nick Scheible said that his school has had the fee the past five years. It was $50 and went to $100 two years ago. It didn’t change this season.
“The athletic fees cover between 7 and 10 percent of our athletic budget for a given year,” Scheible said. “The school’s general fund covers about 70 percent of the budget, and the rest is made on gates and tournament fees and stuff like that.”
A scholarship process is available for those students needing help, he noted.
Scheible said he hasn’t noticed a decrease in participation numbers because of the fee, and he does not foresee its elimination anytime in the near future “based on the direction of public funding for education.”
Tim Erickson of Rockford said his school has had fees since around 2000 and that they are currently the same as last year.
“Our Booster Club offers scholarships based on financial needs,” he said.
Peter Ryan of Saginaw Township Community Schools said the fee of $75 for the middle school and high school sports has been the same for two years.
Lakewood athletic director William Barker said that his school, with a $165 charge per athlete and a $300 cap per family, increased the amount by $15 this year. “It’s our first increase since we started charging 10 years ago,” he said.
Jeff Bell of Freeland said his school charges $100 for high school sports and $75 for middle school. The sports budget comes from the general fund and participation fees help to reduce that. He added that free lunch students do not pay a fee.
However, there are local districts, like Owosso, that do not charge a fee.
“Our Board of Education, administration, and community members have placed a premium on not only athletics, but all extracurricular activities in general,” said athletic director Dallas Linter. “We take a great deal of pride in our offerings, and we feel that they certainly complement our 21st-century academic offerings as well.
“Our community supports our athletic teams through their attendance and gate revenues; our sports boosters do a fantastic job raising funds and supporting our programs. Current legislation and state-level leadership, coupled with declining enrollment statewide, has made it difficult for schools to continue to offer top-notch programming. I feel we are fortunate in Owosso to be able to do this.
“I would assume that fees would discourage some athletes from participation,” he said. “I fear that students from low-income homes would not only avoid participation, but possibly suffer academic pitfalls as well. Current research has clearly identified a strong correlation between extracurricular participation and academic achievement.
“I have worked in a district that levied participation fees. From my experience, it has several management challenges, especially working with families that are struggling. I feel it is important to make every effort to protect educational athletics for all. Especially in today’s America, taking your family to a school sporting event may be one of the most affordable ways to find good entertainment.”
Ryan Cunningham at Farwell said that his school does not levy participation fees and has avoided it by noting that sports is a priority and fund-raising helps out. He doesn’t anticipate there will be fees anytime soon.
Central Montcalm does not charge fees, either. “We have never felt that charging fees for students to participate would generate a significant amount of revenue for our district,” said athletic director Thomas J. Torok. “We also felt that given the nature of our student population and community, that fees would serve to exclude many students from participating.”
Torok speculated that fees could eventually come to his school but doesn’t see any significant benefits. “If you consider that schools spend thousands of dollars on athletics, the initiation of a fee of even $100 per sport would not generate a significant amount of income,” Torok said. “For example, if all 70 kids in a football program paid a $100 fee, it would generate $7,000. That would only cover the cost of perhaps the head coach. It would do nothing to offset the cost of additional coaches, equipment, reconditioning of equipment, transportation, and officials, which are significant.”
Alma has also been able to function without fees for athletics.
“Our sports boosters have been extremely helpful. Last year they purchased over $30,000 in equipment for our sports teams,” said Alma athletic director Eric Huff.
He added that having participation fees in the future can’t be counted out.
“High school sports are still much less expensive to participate in than in other types of sports programs,” Huff said. “For what it actually costs to provide facilities, equipment, coaches, officials, transportation, insurance, etc. for these athletes, the participation fee is actually very small. I believe people will realize that for everything high school sports provides (both in services and socially), the participation fee is well worth it.”
Tom Wilcox at Lakeview said his school has been able to get away from having fees, but he won’t dismiss the possibility of them in the future.
“We will attempt to avoid participation fees as long as possible,” he said.
Dave P. Lecker of Michigan Lutheran Seminary said his school doesn’t charge fees and doesn’t plan on doing so.
“As a parochial school, it is figured into their tuition,” he said.