Board to vote on fees for sports

Donning the Spartan crest for athletic events may come at a price next school year.

The Stanwood-Camano School District Board of Directors will vote to approve pay-to-participate fees for athletics today, June 1.

A proposal, prepared by a committee of administrators and athletic directors at the high school and both middle schools, would apply fees to extracurricular athletic programs.

As part of the community survey issued by the district to determine the reduced educational plan, 75.6 percent of the respondents supported a fee for athletics and activities. The question garnered 590 responses. Of those, 235 (39.8 percent) strongly agreed to implement fees, 211 (35.8 percent) agreed, 94 (15.9 percent) disagreed and 50 (8.5 percent) strongly disagreed.

The response was positive enough for Superintendent Jean Shumate, Ed.D., to have a committee crunch the numbers and come up with a plan.

For now, only athletics are on the proposal.

However, the committee identified other activities such as clubs, as an “area of concern” that should be considered for participation fees in the future.

The plan would charge $100 per sport, with a maximum annual payment capped at $200, at the high school level.

The fee would be $50 per sport, not to exceed $100, at the middle schools.

According to the proposal, at both levels, athletes would pay for the first two sports and could participate in a third at no additional charge.

Payments would be required prior to the first competition and no refunds would be issued after that date.

The fees would not be sport specific; money collected to play football would not be exclusively earmarked for gridiron use. Rather, the funds would subsidize the cost of the entire athletic program at that school.

Currently, athletics and other activities are paid for with levies and fundraising through the Associated Student Body (ASB).

As part of the pitch, student athletes would still be required to purchase an ASB card at the cost of $40.

The amount of money that could be generated is difficult to determine, said Gary Platt, executive director of business services.

“We have ideas about how many students turn out for sports,” he said. “But, we would have to wait and see what kind of impact the fees would have.”

At the middle school level, Keri Von Moos, committee member and Port Susan Middle School assistant principal, is optimistic participation will remain strong.

After two years of cuts in the district, she’s worried about maintaining the quality of after-school opportunities for students.

Research supports that students who participate in sports and activities achieve more in the classroom, have better attendance rates, score higher on tests and show appropriate behavior, said Von Moos.

She said the number one focus of the committee was to keep participation numbers up by offering discounted rates and waivers to those in need.

A 20 percent reduction would be available for students who qualify for reduced price lunches. Furthermore, any participation fees would be waived for students qualifying for free lunches.

Tom Wilfong, assistant principal and athletic director for Stanwood High School, said parents in the district have expressed a willingness to pay the additional cost to support a superior program.

Stanwood has a long tradition of providing strong athletic teams, he said.

“The proposal will allow us to continue,” Wilfong said.

Parents are already paying for their kids to play on teams not associated with the high school, he said. They understand what it takes to fund athletics, Wilfong added.

Whether or not participation will be affected is the big question, he said.

“Similar districts in the WesCo conference haven’t seen a drop as a result of athletic fees,” said Wilfong. “I’m not planning on it here.”

Some of the funding from the fees, he said, would go to reinstate certain programs that have been cut, as well as to bring back coaching positions.

Payments do not guarantee playing time, place on a team or a letter in that sport.

Any money left unused during the course of the school year would remain in the general fund and be carried over as credit for the following year.

Implementing the fee does not necessitate the board’s approval because it does not involve policy revision.

Board policy delegates authority to the superintendent to establish fees and collection procedures, according to the proposal.

The decision to seek board approval was reached because the fee would be a significant change for the district, said Platt.

“We want to make sure the board has a chance to provide input,” he added.

Staff Reporter Adam Stewart: 629-8066 ext. 115 or astewart@scnews.com.