The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
District reduces pay-to-play fees to $300
A reduction in pay to participate in extracurricular activities for Amherst Exempted Village Schools students has led some area parents to be concerned with fair compensation.
The reduction was approved by the district’s Board of Education during an Aug. 26 meeting, which dropped the price from $400 to $300 for the 2020-2021 school year.
The reduced price will be for the first and second child in a family registered, with every additional child costing $150.
Superintendent Steve Sayers said the decision came after speaking with administrative staff, the athletic director and Marion L. Steele High School principal Joe Tellier.
“We’re in a very uncertain situation as we head into this school year, a very unique and challenging situation,” Sayers said.
The fee reduction is applicable to the junior high and high school for fall, winter and spring sports, which also includes drama, e-sports, academic team and marching band, among the other regular sports.
However, some involved in the school’s marching band are concerned about getting their money’s worth this season.
Former Booster Club president Jeff Rakar, who has two daughters who march in the band, said the shortened fall sports season is concerning in terms of the marching band’s participation, since members only are allowed to play at home games this year.
Since the football team only has six games this season, and three of those are at home, the marching band would only get 45 minutes of play time in for three games.
Rakar said he believes the fee should be cut even more for the marching band, since the members are participating in extracurricular activities less than other sports.
“In my eyes, we should pay half of what they’re paying,” he said.
Rakar said he is working with band director Chris Barbaro and the Booster Club to extend playing opportunities and to have the fee reduced more.
Rakar said with that shortened season, he’s unsure what the district will do with the additional money made by the band, since most of the fees are funded through the Booster Club.
If nothing changes, he said his daughters may not participate this year.
“I’m ready to pull them out of marching band,” Rakar said. “If it was a normal year, we wouldn’t have problem with it.”
Tellier said the high school is not looking to collect the pay to play fees until Oct. 1, and aren’t due until Oct. 15, because of the risk that the season may be cut even shorter by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“There’s a lot of things up in the air,” he said.
Tellier said he, too, has worked with Barbaro, who was creative in finding an additional two or three playing opportunities for the band.
Depending on the sport, all playing time and number of games and matches are different, he said.
Having sat in some early football games and volleyball matches, Tellier said things are much different this year.