|
||||
|
School sports season starts with new fee
9/8/2010 10:35:09 AM
By Tammy Kimberley
Splash Staff Writer
These student athletes exchange their final weeks of summer break for early-morning practices and scrimmages to prepare for various fall sports programs.
But participation in CVSD high school and middle school athletic programs comes with an extra price this year, due to a new fee implemented as a result of the district's ongoing budget deficit.
"Participation fees for athletics are a direct result of ongoing cuts in state funding for schools," said Melanie Rose, spokeswoman for CVSD. "Our community tells us they would rather pay participation fees than cut athletic programs for students."
Advertisement
During budget discussions last spring, the CVSD school board voted unanimously to implement the fees, with the anticipation of generating about $125,000 during the school year. The new fee is intended to offset the costs associated with athletic expenses, such as transportation and coaching salaries, Rose said.
Although she said it's too soon to say how the fees might affect participation levels, Rose said turnout for fall sports has been consistent with years past, for the most part, and feedback from parents has been fairly quiet. In previous years, she said about 50 percent of high school students participated in at least one sport and around 60 percent of middle school students.
Liberty Lake resident Darin Justus, who has a high school son and a middle school son in three sports each, said he can understand the district's need to cover some costs for student participation.
"Playing any type of club or select league outside of the school district is a lot more money," Justus said. "If the fees are held to a minimum and are affordable, it can be a win-win situation for the school district and the family who puts out the cash."
Kevin Glynn, whose daughter participates on the high school cross country and track teams, said he hopes the fees don't prevent some students from participating.
"It's a shame that in this economic climate, it might affect some people," said Glynn, a Liberty Lake resident. "But the school district is under the crunch, too. They're feeling it like everyone else."
Under the new fee structure, high school students pay $60 for each sport they play with a $120 maximum. Students who qualify for reduced lunch pay $30, and the fee is waived for students on the free lunch plan.
|
By the Numbers Source: Central Valley School District |
These participation fees are in addition to already-established uniform and helmet fees, as well as student body fees, Rose said.
During the budgeting process, the district studied fees in other similarly sized school districts in the state. According to the district's research, the CVSD fee is comparable to other districts, which charge fees ranging from $25 to $275 for high school athletic participation.
Middle school students who play football actually experienced a reduction in their costs this year. During the 2009-10 budget process, the district retained middle school football as a fee-based program in which students paid $125 to play. Under the new fee structure, students pay the $25 participation fee along with a $36 equipment fee.
Liberty Lake parent April Munyon said she was pleasantly surprised that the cost to play middle school football went down, since parents were afraid the program might be cut.
She said she was thankful they were informed ahead of time so her family could budget for the roughly $300 it will cost for her seventh-grader and high school son to play sports in the district.
"We saw it coming with the cutbacks, so we prepared ourselves for it," she said. "I'm just glad they still have athletics in the schools."
Extracurricular activities should bring enjoyment
Splash photo by Tammy Kimberley
The Central Valley High School girls soccer team scrimmages during a recent practice.
While September marks the start of the school year, it's also the beginning of sports practice, music lessons, dance rehearsals and many other extracurricular activities. While these events can help kids explore a world of interests, it can also lead to feelings of being overwhelmed and stressed if unchecked, local experts say.
Lisa Marsh, school counselor at Central Valley's Kindergarten Center and Greenacres Middle School, said parents play an important role in helping their children find what activities might be suitable for them and their temperament.
Although it sounds simple, she said having meaningful conversations is one way parents can find out what kids are good at. She recommends that parents try to spend at least 15 minutes per day giving their child their undivided attention.
"Parents underestimate the power of time with their kid," she said.
Participation in extracurricular activities provides kids time to socialize, as well as an opportunity to discover their strengths and weaknesses, Marsh said. She encourages parents to put their own agendas aside and evaluate the child's interest level before enrolling him or her in any sport or activity.
"Parents and kids in the family are wired differently," Marsh said. "Make sure you're listening to your kids and tailoring the schedule for your kids, not for what you want them to do or what other neighbor kids do."
Besides having discussions over the dinner table and doing frequent check-ins, she said parents can sit down with their child to see how much time he or she is spending with homework, family and outside activities. If it appears overwhelming on paper and there is no space for downtime, parents can help their child make decisions on how to best balance their time.
And if parents notice signs of stress, such as moodiness, anxiety, a drop in their grades or a change in their normal functioning, they should talk with their child about how he or she is feeling.
"The whole point of extracurriculars is enjoyment," Marsh said. "If it's becoming a battle and the kid is anxious, stressed and in tears, then it may not be meeting the intended goal."
- Tammy Kimberley