Increasing athletic fees up for debate

School board tables measure to look into ways to help families with financial need
By: 
Lee Pulaski
City Editor

The fees to participate in athletics could increase for students in the Shawano School District, but a plan to waive fees for poorer families calls into question whether the fee increase will yield additional funding for the schools.

Currently, Shawano Community High School athletes are charged $15 per sport, with a cap of $30; that means any student who participates in three sports can play the third sport free, according to activities director Joel Wondra in a report to the Shawano School Board on March 20. At Shawano Community Middle School, the cost is $10 per sport, with a cap of $20.

Wondra noted that the fee is comparable to neighboring districts and even lower than some in northeast Wisconsin. For example, Pulaski High School charges up to $30 for athletes to participate, the same as Shawano, but New London caps its fees at $60, twice the amount. Chilton charges the most at $90, according to a survey Wondra did with other athletic directors in Wisconsin.

“Shawano, at $15, is on the low end,” he said.

Clintonville High School doesn’t have a cap and charges $20 per sport, while school districts in larger cities like Appleton, Oshkosh and Wausau charge $50 per sport.

However, Shawano is one of the few school districts in the area that charges a fee for athletes to participate. Wondra reached out to other school districts and learned that Bowler, Gresham, Oconto Falls, Suring and Tigerton do not charge athletic fees.

Shawano is looking at increasing the fees by $10 per sport, which means SCHS athletes would pay $25 per sport up to $50, while SCMS athletes would pay $20 per sport up to $40. Wondra said the added fees would bring in about $7,890 more for the district, based on participation numbers from the 2021-22 school year.

Those numbers only hold if the district opts not to waive or decrease fees for families with students who receive free or reduced meals through the school. Wondra made the suggestion during his report to the board, noting that at least 58% of students in the district qualify for the meal plan.

“I’m not necessarily here to advocate for anything,” Wondra said, noting that there has not been a change to the athletic fee structure in the five years he has been with the district. “This is more so to share information with you so you can make a decision going forward.”

Of the schools surveyed, almost 20 made some modification for students who receive free or reduced meals.

“I don’t want an increased fee to become a barrier to participation,” Wondra said. “We don’t currently offer any discounts for students who come from need, but I think that’s something that should be considered.”

Board member Karen Smith suggested that the athletic booster club might be a resource to pay the fees on behalf of those families who can’t afford to do so.

“I think that might be a conversation worth having with them,” Smith said. “They’ve always been willing to work with athletics. So instead of the district picking it up, they might.”

Board member John Arens expressed dismay about the athletic fees being low when considering that fees for certain non-athletic activities are much higher.

“Our middle school band has a $75 annual fee, and our jazz band has a $300 fee,” Arens said.

Wondra said he wasn’t looking at the fee structure for activities across the board, just for athletics.

Arens noted that the district does not even pay for the cost of the jazz band to use a school bus to transport to and from events.

“There’s a foundation that helps with that, boosters and stuff like that,” Arens said.

Board member Alysia Pillsbury said she was disappointed that the school district isn’t already offering discounts or waiving fees altogether for poor families, whether for athletics or for other activities.

“I wouldn’t have been able to participate in anything if my parents had to pay a fee,” Pillsbury said. “It’s basically nothing to us, but if you have two students in a sport, that’s a hard hit on a lot of families in our area, especially if it’s a fall sport, when you’re sending your kids back to school.”

The board voted to postpone a decision on the matter until the fee structure could be vetted through one or more of the committees. Arens recommended having the finance committee, along with the policy and curriculum committee, flesh out the proposal and see what would work best for the district, which is concerned about having enough money to operate.

“There’s so many other things to look at with these fees,” Arens said. “You’re talking five grand (from the high school fees increase) on a $33 million (annual) budget. It’s hardly worth bringing it to a full board vote right now. It really needs to be vetted. Right now, we’re basically charging nothing.”


lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com