Will $0 be the new price of playing sports at Chelsea schools?
The Chelsea school board will vote on a proposal to eliminate fees for middle- and high-schoolers to participate in athletics Monday night.
The district has been contemplating doing away with its pay-to-participate fees for the past few months. The fees long have been a concern of the board’s, said Superintendent Andrew Ingall.
Chelsea High School Football's defense practices a play during an afternoon practice Aug. 6 at the school.
Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com
Chelsea School District’s fees for sports already are on the low-end, when compared to the rest of Washtenaw County’s schools. The district charged $25 for unlimited sports at the middle school last year and $100 for unlimited sports at the high school. Students who qualified for free or reduced-price lunch only paid $10 to participate.
Ingall said while the district has scholarship opportunities as well as other means of helping low-income families, it wants to ensure all students have an equal opportunity to participate.
“A lot of families don’t think they qualify or are eligible for aid, or just have that pride and the kids don’t want to ask for help,” he said.
Pay-to-participate fees at several other Washtenaw County districts have a range, depending on how many sports students play.
Middle-school students at Manchester Community Schools pay $90 for the first season, $70 for the second season and $60 for the third or fourth. At the high school, the fees are $100 for the first season, $80 for the second and $70 for the third or fourth.
At Ann Arbor Public Schools, the fee to participate in any after-school sport is $50 per middle-schooler, per year. At the high schools, the fee is $150 for the first sport and an additional $75 for each sport after that.
Dexter recently increased its fees from $100 per sport at the high school to $250 for the first sport, $150 for the second sport and $100 for the third sport. Middle-schoolers pay $150 for their first sport, $100 for their second sport and $75 for their third sport.
Ypsilanti and Willow Run do not charge students to play sports.
Total participation rates at Chelsea dropped by “double digits” after the schools implemented the fee model in 2010, Ingall said. High school football coach Brad Bush said football numbers were not impacted, but the fee structure did not promote the involvement Chelsea strives for.
“(Athletics) participation numbers took a hit. And at other school where there is an additional fee for each sport, we see it kind of discourages multi-sport athletes — and that’s really not something we want to happen,” Bush said. “If you have more than one athlete in a family and multi-sport athletes, which we try to encourage here, (the cost) can get pretty ridiculous.”
Ingall said the pay-to-participate fees only contributed about 10 percent to its approximately $660,000 athletics budget and primarily covered the coaching staff’s salaries.
“At this point, if the board were to (approve eliminating the fees), … it would be a budget adjustment for us. We don’t have another revenue source,” he said. “Our budget is in better shape than it was two years ago. We still have an operational deficit, but we do have some fund equity available that we could put toward it.”
Ingall said fall coaches were notified of the board’s desire to study this issue and the coaches were told not to collect fees from students until a decision was made. So no money was collected and only will be if the board decides not to eliminate the policy, he said.
Local Sports Editor Pete Cunningham contributed to this story.
Danielle Arndt covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. Follow her on Twitter @DanielleArndt or email her at daniellearndt@annarbor.com.
Comments
Mark
Tue, Aug 28, 2012 : 3:53 a.m.
Once again, Chelsea gets it right and Dexter trips and falls. I love Dexter, so this is not a put-down, just frustration with the administration. Whose idea was this anyway, Dexter? Someone needs to be fired or voted out of office. Athletics are for any student who wants to give it a try. Rich or poor; varsity or JV. Something's not right here.
julieswhimsies
Mon, Sep 3, 2012 : 2:02 a.m.
I wholeheartedly agree Mark. We lived in Chelsea for 28 years. We moved to Dexter after our children were grown. They received an excellent education in Chelsea. Having said that, They all played sports, and Music in Chelsea. Since our children are grown, this shouldn't be an issue for me, but it is. ALL children should have the opportunity to participate in Sports. As a community, Dexter is one of the fastest growing communities in the state. There's a reason for that. It is a wonderful place to live. Chelsea, on the other hand had to close a fairly new school, due to lack of enrollment. WHY this fee for sports in Dexter?!
jns131
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 8:38 p.m.
Chelsea does not have the funding problems other districts do. They can do what ever they want and this includes zero play for sports. Ann Arbor charges because they are so far in debt it is not funny. If they cleaned up Balais then they would have money to spare.
julieswhimsies
Sat, Sep 1, 2012 : 9:45 p.m.
@jns131...and you know this how?
julieswhimsies
Sat, Sep 1, 2012 : 9:17 p.m.
Better management.
jns131
Tue, Aug 28, 2012 : 3:12 p.m.
Its called spending where it is needed and keeping to a budget. Most districts have no clue when it comes to this.
Mark
Tue, Aug 28, 2012 : 3:50 a.m.
What's Chelsea's secret? How can they do this when the other districts are "crying poor."
julieswhimsies
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 6:36 p.m.
Children need to be involved in extracurricular activities at school. It keeps them busy, teaches them to be on time, shows the value of cooperation and teamwork. I could go on. My three children all played sports at Chelsea Schools. They learned valuable lessons that they have taken with them into adulthood. They are all fit, and well-adjusted adults. I also required that they be involved in the wonderful music program at Chelsea. My oldest played violin in the orchestra, My son played trumpet in the band, and still plays music. My youngest was in Choir, and has just finished cutting her first CD. Fee or no fee, my kids would have done these things anyway, as we had the means to support them. After they grew up and left home, we moved to Dexter. Fees for these valuable activities are abhorrent. Children with less income should be able to participate, as well.
lumberg48108
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 3:09 p.m.
Did you forget Lincoln? I know the 8th graders pay $100 for sports and football as an extra $25 fee for clothing and if I am not mistaken, entry fees for football games at Lincoln are on the high end
bull3058
Sat, Sep 1, 2012 : 12:24 p.m.
The High School fee is $140, but these fees are for all the sports you can play not just a per sport fee. The clothing fee at least last year for the varsity was for socks, shirt, and shorts, and it was optional for the athlete to purchase. The entry fees are $5 and this is not was out of line compared to many of the other schools I have attended events at.
GoNavy
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 2:54 p.m.
"On the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds that, on other fields and other days, will bear the fruits of victory." -Gen. Douglas MacArthur
boo
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 2:02 p.m.
hope all the local school districts are paying attention. pay to play is the "quiet" killer of student engagement in school. Kids are NOT playing sports because of these fees. Add to that, the other miscellaneous fees that families need to pay, and you have kids NOT playing because it costs too much. Remember the when all you needed was a desire to play? Now we have kids spending all their time on cell phones, computers and video games. Getting fatter by the minute.
GoNavy
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 2:56 p.m.
@tomnspats- Sounds like we're creating emo kids who are great at sharing their feelings on facebook, but can't comprehend the notion of competition, fair play, winning, and of course the reality of life that there are often losers in every situation. But ya - keep plugging away at making sure that every kid has access to Angry Birds at the age of 9.
tomnspats
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 2:52 p.m.
Funny how the kids can afford a $100.00 cell phone bill each month but not an athletic fee.My son went to a small private high school years ago .The school had a football team because many of the parents were living through their children.Football was a must .Only the boys played and the computers were almost nonexistent .All of these children will use computers for the rest of their lives.Nobody went on to play college ball.When funding is scarce lets try to get the most bang for a buck.Do art students and music students pay fees?
Katie
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 1:24 p.m.
I grew up in Chelsea, and coming from a low income family of 4 kids, we would have never had the chance to play. When you also have to pay even to see a middle school sporting event, it's hard for parents to even go watch their kids play. It's hard enough keeping up in a sport when your family doesn't have the extra money to put you in rec sports, but then having to pay to even play at school, makes staying involved difficult.
Wondering
Fri, Aug 31, 2012 : 12:53 a.m.
Mark- Here is the link for the athletic scholarship in Dexter. http://dexterschools.org/athletics/files/2012/08/scholarship-form.pdf
Mark
Tue, Aug 28, 2012 : 3:47 a.m.
@Wondering: I haven't seen any scholarship applications. It's all talk. Plus, there's a difference between poverty level and just a struggling family making tough choices. Plus, "scholarship" is the wrong word and the school board doesn't seem to even know the difference. Scholarships are for scholars. A scholarship is earned. What the board means is a stipend or waiver. I am really upset by this. My kids will be able to play sports, but I know there are kids who will miss out. It's embarrassing to ask for a waive. People are going to pass on sports rather than ask for one.
Wondering
Tue, Aug 28, 2012 : 1:21 a.m.
That is why there are scholarships.
xmo
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 12:25 p.m.
With so many Americans over weight, this should be free and mandatory!
ownrdgd
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 12:07 p.m.
Dexter does not need a MILLAGE,it needs to stop wasteing taxpayers money on frivolus wastefull projects The money they spent on the new football field at shield and baker rd would of paid for every kids sports for eons,for what,what was wrong with the existing field. And god only knows how much money was spent on that high tech side walk/ bridge that zero people use on shield rd.They could of built a sidewalk along the road instead of building a fancy bridge,chelsea did it along old u.s. 12. Want to send a message to the school board,keep all your kids from pay to play sports till they ,the school board gets there act together
Tom Todd
Tue, Aug 28, 2012 : 12:42 a.m.
Chelsea appears to be a nice place to live,Did Bain capital get rich off of these projects?
aareader
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 2:24 p.m.
to ownrdge. The two projects you have commented are based on safety issues. The sidewalk and bridge protect kids. There was no easy way to just build a sidewalk. Students use the facilities "across the road" after school in the fall and spring months when the road is very heavily traveled. The football field appeared to me to be overkill at first glance. When I asked a school member about it they stated if was for safety. This field is same type of construction as most of the other fields in the area. The University of Michigan went to this design a few years ago in the "Big House" Players have fewer injuries and the surface remains playable during a season of heavy use. While expensive, a program that puts a premium on safety is a plus for all kids/students.
Steve
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 12:42 p.m.
Stop with the "wasting taxpayers money" argument. While I do not know the specifics about Dexter, I do know enough to say that EVERY school district gathers community input about the large projects that you described AND these projects would not HAVE proceeded IF community support was not there. A majority of people felt there was a legitimate reason to proceed with these projects and thus approved of the expenditures.
mohomed
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 11:44 a.m.
DennisP agreed, Chelsea really seems to grasp how these high fees are discouraging poorer kids from doing something that will benefit them the rest of their lives. Playing high school sports in a once in a lifetime thing with many life lessons and great memories. Sad Dexter has done this along with other schools. In fact when you reflect on high school it really is the friends, socializing, and sports that make the time in your life so memorable. The academic part is important but college is the time to make your break in that. Let the kids be kids and don't make them feel guilty by having their parents dish out money many of them don't have. The money can and will be found for sports... interesting how Ypsilanti and Willow Run (2 of the poorest schools in the County) don't have pay to play and yet have the money still for the sports but a wealthy one like Dexter doesn't.
aareader
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 2:13 p.m.
I submit the above is true. What Chelsea stated about its sports as part of the learning process and academic success is even more important. Sports participation builds team work skills, provides another way to handle adversity (not everyone can win every contest) and another way to build character. If one believes people can learn in many different ways participating in sports provides another choice. With the pay to play fees very low Chelsea has demonstrated their commitment to this process.
DennisP
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 11:30 a.m.
I hope Dexter School Board sits up and takes notice. Its fees are ridiculous--especially for a program which has recently been in disarray--unable to attract and hold an athletic director, firings and lawsuits by former coaches, etc. I'm not saying those are all the fault of the district, but they sure are charging royal fees for a less-than-premier program. It will become exclusionary with fewer students participating. That's not good for students and not for the community as more kids end up with time on their hands after hours and nothing to do. I know they are incurring expenses as they improve the athletic facilities but they should first try to seek a bond millage. Dexter has always supported its school funding. Not so sure I'd do it now.
Wondering
Tue, Aug 28, 2012 : 11:02 a.m.
Mark- Not a school board member. Just a Dexter parent of 3 children. We are a family that has used the scholarship and/or partial scholarship for other activities in the schools when times were tough (when drop to a one income family overnight). I am very appreciative of everything the school district has to offer and the opportunity for all students to participate in sports and field trips by providing scholarships for those who need them.
Mark
Tue, Aug 28, 2012 : 3:42 a.m.
@ Wondering, which school board member are you?
Wondering
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 11:48 a.m.
I am a Dexter parent and have no problem with the fee. Families can apply for scholarships if needed. There is a $700 cap per family a year. If I put 2 kids in sports outside of school I would pay much more than $700. If someone does not like the athletics at a school they do not need to participate. My son enjoys school and participating in school sports. This outweighs the problems that the adults within the program have amongst themselves.