School Board Approves Pay-to-Participate Policy

In a sign of the economic times, the township school district in September will start charging students to play sports or join extracurricular activities such as drama club. 

The school board voted unanimously Tuesday night to institute a pay-to-participate fee for students at Moorestown High School and William Alllen Middle School. (Click on the PDF, right, to view a copy of the policy.)

Students will pay one fee to take part in as many activities as they want, the board decided. The other option had been to charge students a per-activity fee. 

The district spends about $1.5 million per year on sports and extracurricular programs, and passing on some of the cost will help ensure that the offerings aren't eliminated due to budget constraints, school officials said. 

"We as a community need to find alternative ways to start paying for our services," said  board member David Weinstein, chairman of the committee that created the policy. "I understand people may not like pay to participate.  I don't like it either. Fundamentally, it bothers me.  But it's needed."

The exact cost per student hasn't been determined, but the fees will be structured for each school, and a few extracurriculars might not require a fee, board members said.  

There will be a "family cap" of three times the maximum the maximum individual rate. For example, if a student were charged $170, a family would have to pay no more than $510, no matter how many children they have participating. 

Using a "global fee" vs. a per-activity fee could encourage student participation, said  board member Matt Simeone. 

"Once you pay one fee, more students might do more activities," he said.

There will be waivers available for students who meet free and reduced-lunch program standards, and the fee could also be waived in other hardship cases at the discretion of the superintendent. In addition, there will be a limited refund policy, if a student is not accepted into the activity due to lack of space or opportunity within the activity (a student is cut from a team or not chosen for a play, or the student is ineligible to participate). A refund would also be provided if  the activity is canceled. Refunds will not be provided if a student quits during the course of the activity. 

Paying to participate will not give students or their families the right to determine level of participation or staffing of activities, Weinstein said previously. 

Board members could not say Tuesday whether any programs would be eliminated if paid participation is low. 

Fees will be collected using a centralized online system, said Superintendent John Bach. 

Information about the new policy will be sent home to parents, and posted on the district's website in July, Bach said. 

The district had initially hoped to collect $220,000 per year through the activity fees, but later realized the per-student fee would be too high, said board secretary Lynn Shugars. The district now estimates it will collect $40,000 to $50,000 per year in fees, she said.