Letter to the Editor: Scaled pay to play needed in the Mt. Blue school district?

2 mins read

During this school budget debate I have heard people talk about making cuts to sports and other extracurricular activities. I believe these programs have a great value to those who participate and would hate to see them go.

I have been thinking about how the district could possibly save money without actually cutting these programs. What if the district utilized a pay to play type system for both sports and non-sport activities?

I know that not all students could afford to pay to participate and I wouldn’t want to put kids who want to be engaged to be put in a situation where they couldn’t be a part of a team or club. So here is my idea: what if the district used a system similar to the lunch program where based on family income there would be full price, reduced price and free fee scale?

The district would set the fee scale for each activity or sport-based on the cost to provide it and parents would fill out a form similar to the lunch program. Then each parent would be informed of the cost for their child to participate. This would hopefully give all students the opportunity to be involved. It would not likely cover all cost of providing each program but it would help to decrease the cost to the district while giving all students the chance to participate if they choose.

I am sure there will be people who will be opposed to this idea, I respect that. It is just an idea that I think is worth considering.

Jennifer Chretien
Farmington

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

4 Comments

  1. I think all ideas should be heard and considered. This one seems fair and logical. As Jennifer pointed out, the entire cost would probably not be covered, but that’s where you get the kids involved in fund-raising.

    Today’s students are thoughtful, creative and resourceful. I’m sure they can find new and different ways to raise money.

  2. I am a parent of 3 alumni kids. They all graduated from Mt Blue, all played three sports all 6 years of high school and middle school along with many other after school activities. We, as a family experienced many, many, many fundraising activities. Almost all teams and clubs raise funds already. This community is very generous and many business give and give, (thank you very much to all). With busy kids you are constantly baking, selling (and buying) transporting, and asking your employers for something. As former member of the Mt Blue All Sports Boosters, we had discussions about pay to play and we felt this was something we wanted to avoid. We felt that participation would be lowered by lack of commitment by students and their families to fundraising.

  3. Let the teachers fund raise to cover some of their lavish benefits and leave the kids alone.

  4. Sports in High School cost the district roughly $450,000. That’s pittance compared to other “stuff”. The sports programs in Middle School cost the district roughly $138,000. Elementary school sports cost about $48,000. Even if you add them all together, that’s not a huge sum. Parents already pay for sneakers/sports shoes of every variety. Bought sneakers lately? And parents buy knee pads, elbow pads, and “other” protective equipment. Add in gas to and from practice, meals on the road, buying t-shirts to be “with” the other parents/supporters….parents do quite a lot for the kids. I never thought it was wasted money when my kids were in sports. it was my kids. I’d hate to see sports removed from Mt. Blue. Look at the trophies in the cases…the kids can later walk by and remember their friends, their coaches, and the boners…but they’re better kids because of all that.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.