GILROY
– Next year, student athletes at Gilroy High School may have to
pay a fee before they can play on a team.
GILROY – Next year, student athletes at Gilroy High School may have to pay a fee before they can play on a team.
As part of districtwide budget reductions for the next two school years, $24,000 will be cut from high school athletics. To make up that amount, GHS is considering fundraising options but most likely will start charging an athletics fee.
“At this point, I guess I’m going to cross my fingers and hope they don’t cut us,” Athletic Director Jack Daley said.
However, since it is unlikely athletics will be untouched, Daley said he is looking at charging student athletes, possibly per sport.
“Typically, schools do one of two things: One, because transportation is such a big part of our budget – it becomes a ‘transportation fee’ per se – and then it can be anywhere from $25 to $50 per sport, with some built in discounts for families, multiple-sport kids,” Daley said. “Or, we could set it up as just a general athletic fee. … But there are some issues surrounding that.”
Often dubbed a “pay to play” fee, a general fee would be charged with the understanding that it doesn’t necessarily guarantee a player game time, just a chance to participate in a sport.
“I think that one of the concerns is that at the high school level, and at the varsity level especially, it’s not a rec league, so there’s no allocated minutes,” Daley said. “There’s going to need to be some discussion and some education for people that if we do end up charging that kind of a fee, because you pay, it doesn’t guarantee that your student is going to play.”
The fee policy dovetails with those at other high schools in the area, Daley said, and is becoming a more frequent reality as belts tighten.
“Having after-school sports and interscholastic sports is a great benefit to the school and a great benefit to students. It provides motivation, and it provides better classroom work because they’re held to standards,” he said. “At the same time, when the choices are made between equally good things in terms of what you want to cut, if you want to have those kinds of things, people have to understand that you need money to make those things happen.”
The cuts are estimated at 12 percent across the athletic department, which includes 22 varsity sports. The budget for athletics is $230,000 for next year to cover coaching salaries at the high school.
The additional costs for the high school athletic department are: $30,000 per year for officials; $30,000 per year for transportation; $40 per team in league fees; $40 per team in CCS fees; and $1,000 to $2,000 in California Interscholastic Federation fees. Furthermore, the athletic department must send all helmets and shoulder pads for safety checks, costing $6,000 per year, as well as paying for an ambulance to be on site during all football games.
GUSD middle schools also are facing athletics cuts. They will be asked to make up $7,000 in funding, which Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services Steve Brinkman said will largely be done through fundraising.
Because participation fees could hurt some families already struggling to make ends meet, the high school likely will come up with a payment plan, reduced fee or even a fee waiver for low-income students, depending on the situation.
“We certainly have to be aware of families who can’t afford it, take care of that and at the same time not diminish opportunities for people to participate,” Daley said.
Meanwhile, GHS’ 24th annual Crab Cioppino Feed and Dance, the major athletics fundraiser, seems to have done well last weekend.
Daley is still finalizing the numbers but estimates that 1,180 people attended, raising between $16,000 and $20,000.
However, that money, for the athletics general fund, is raised each year and won’t necessarily help with the $24,000 slated to be cut.
“I’d like to look at some other ways to find … that money,” Daley said, “But it may come down to us charging that fee.”
