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Columbus
Dispatch Editorial...
Paying to play
School sports will rely more than ever on boosters, volunteers
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Public-school officials wrestling with squeezed budgets face a special
challenge when it comes to interscholastic sports. They’re outside the
core academic mission of public schools, but for many students and
parents they’re an essential part of the school experience. Often,
school sports are the greatest source of pride for students and their
best chance to be involved in something positive. Participants learn
self-discipline and teamwork.
School districts can’t be faulted for turning to higher pay-to-play
fees as a way to keep sports programs alive, but such decisions should
take several factors into account.
One good question is, just how expensive should sports programs be?
The quality and expense of middle-school and high-school sports
programs cover a wide spectrum from poorer to wealthier communities.
While inner-city schools make do with aging uniforms, minimal and
rudimentary equipment and few paid coaches, the biggest suburban
programs boast state-of-the-art training, excellent new equipment and
multiple coaches.
As any veteran of high-level youth sports in private clubs or high
schools can attest, the drive to compete and excel has inflated the
cost of participating, right along with the expectations of high
performance.
In some central Ohio schools, that will translate to fees of $500 or
more for any students playing any sport or participating in marching
band. Canal Winchester Local Schools parents are looking at fees that
could grow to $600 per activity by the fall of 2013 if voters don’t
approve a new tax levy in May.
Requiring sports and other activities to become self-supporting would
take pressure off a school district’s budget but would raise a fairness
issue: Should sports be available only to those kids whose parents can
afford it?
Should schools with poorer parents be relegated to perpetual also-ran
status, with no hope of competing with better-off schools, regardless
of individual student talent?
How important is a potential superstar’s athletic talent, and should
school officials lose any sleep if their athletic programs offer no
outlet for that talent?
Beyond the question of having and raising sports fees, schools must
decide how to divvy them up. Should those who play the relatively
expensive sports, such as golf and swimming, pay their true share of
the total cost, with higher fees than for lower-cost sports such as
track? Or should all student-athletes face equal fees to participate in
the activities of their choice?
The differences in wealth among school districts - and among schools in
the same district - always has meant there are haves and have-nots
among sports programs; as budgets shrink and schools rely more on
volunteers and support from booster groups, the gap could increase.
Still, with a pressing need to focus on improving academic performance
despite smaller budgets, school officials may have no alternative but
to leave would-be athletes and their supporters to their own devices.
That will challenge those who cherish school sports to reshape them to
fit the resources available.
Asking participants for a greater contribution, raising funds in the
community, seeking support from businesses, recruiting additional
volunteers for management, transportation and maintenance and making do
with less in the way of equipment and uniforms - all could play a role
in keeping sports programs going.
It’s one more management challenge raised by Ohio’s economic reality.
Read it at the Columbus Dispatch
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