Tuesday, March 27, 2012
POLAND
School-board members continued discussions of pay-to-participate athletic fees, but they did not make a decision.
The board heard from Athletic Director Brian Banfield, who said the average cost of pay-to-participate athletics at Ohio schools is $140 per high-school sport.
“I would support a fee of $150 for high-school athletes and $75 for middle-school athletes and a family cap,” Banfield said at Monday’s board session.
In the 2011-12 school year, the district had 884 participants in all sports, he said. Students who participated in two sports, for example, are counted twice.
Superintendent Robert Zorn said Lakeview Schools in Trumbull County is comparable to Poland in terms of enrollment and demographics. According to Lakeview’s website, its fees in 2011-12 were $75 per student (unlimited sports) in seventh and eighth grade and $100 per high-school student per sports season. A maximum of $200 per student and $400 per family was set for all students.
Board president Dr. Larry Dinopoulos said he wants to be able to show residents exactly how the board determined the fee.
He favors a fee that would cover all costs of athletics.
Others brought up that if a fee is set too high, participation in athletics would drop and alter projected funds.
“As more people fall off, that’s less money you’re bringing in,” said board member James Lavorini.
But Dinopoulos said he still would rather take into account all aspects of athletics when deciding the fee amount.
“My problem with a low fee is that an [Advanced Placement] course wants textbooks and as it stands now, I’m not allowed to do that, but I’m still paying for seventh-grade football. ... This is a demonstration that education comes first,” Dinopoulos said.
The district hasn’t purchased any new textbooks since 2009.
Board member Richard Weaver said the information he was provided showed these costs: $210,000 in supplemental contracts, $70,000 in transportation and $10,000 from the general fund for other services.
If there was a phase-in with students paying 60 percent of the cost for athletics — covering $174,000 using the above numbers — it would average about $200 per athlete, Weaver said.
No fee amount was determined, and there were many other questions left unanswered, such as transportation fees for marching band and fees for other extracurricular activities.
Dinopoulos said he wants the board to take action on the fees at its April 23 meeting.