ORANGE TOWNSHIP — The Mapleton board of education set fees Friday that significantly increased the amount it costs for students to play sports heading into the next school year.
Starting in the fall, students who play sports in the middle school will be required to pay $200. Those playing sports at the high school level will pay $400.
The new fees represent a 167% and 433% increases to previous years’ prices, respectively.
Last year’s pay-to-play fees across the district were $75, according to Katy Wiley, the district’s treasurer.
Initially, the board entertained a motion to accept the pay-to-play fees without an individual or family cap. However, the board conceded to implementing an individual cap after hearing from a district parent who said it would be “very hard” without a cap.
Megan Dennison said she has six children, five of which are in school. Three of them are involved in athletics, she said, and they play multiple sports.
“Athletics are what keep the academics up,” she said in a separate interview after the meeting.
Both board members Shana Benner and Shawn Grundy had been in favor of no caps and possibly higher fees in order to cover costs of athletics for the district, but both agreed to an individual cap rate after discussion during Friday’s regular board meeting.
The board set the individual cap for middle school student athletes to $500. For high school student athletes, that number is $1,000. This means students who play multiple sports will not have to pay more than those caps.
“At the end of the day, we are supporting extracurriculars with academic money. I don’t know how we can continue to do that,” Grundy said.
The school district’s athletic programs may still be in the red, even with the higher participation fees and the individual caps, according to data provided by Wiley.
Expenses for the district’s athletic programs come to a whopping $323,694.20. That figure includes expenses for equipment, maintenance and salaries.
“But that doesn’t include transportation and fuel,” Wiley said.
The athletics program’s revenue, on the other hand, only brings the district $46,078.70, according to Wiley’s calculations.
Superintendent Scott Smith said he doesn’t believe the fees will completely offset the costs.
Nevertheless, “I think we’re in the ballpark. Whether it’s $300, $350, or $400, I think we’re right in that ballpark,” he said.
Wiley said pay-to-play fees would need to reach $800 just to cover costs.
“I’m concerned about the (athletic) program. We can’t afford to lose any kids. And we do have some kids that are coming here to play in sports … I just don’t want to destroy the program where we’re rebuilding and we’re just that much further behind,” Wiley said.
Ultimately, the board voted unanimously to approve the new fees and individual caps.
The district warned of the increase in pay-to-play fees, and other academic and extracurricular fees, if a 0.75% income tax levy failed at the ballots.
The levy failed by 16 percentage points in May, which could mean a $44,333 deficit this year, Smith has said. The gap grows to $159,646 in 2024, $294,000 in 2025 and nearly $484,000 in 2026 without a levy.
Fees aren’t the only ways to recuperate lost income. Other measures include cuts to staff, field trips and the Little Mountie STEM Preschool, the district has warned.
