It’ll Cost To Play $ports At A Highline School Next Year

The Highline school board announced Thursday (July 16th) that it has voted to adopt a “Pay for Play” system, which will charge students a fee for participation in middle school and high school athletics.

While some school board members expressed concern that the fees will discourage students from participating in sports, Superintendent John Welch told the board staff that he is working with the Highline Schools Foundation for Excellence to establish a scholarship program.

“We will work hard to see that no student is turned away from playing a sport,” said Welch.

Welch said the fees are necessary to support the rising costs of athletic programs.

“In order to continue to offer both middle and high school sports, we must implement a pay-for-play fee structure,” said Welch. “If we don’t charge a fee, we will have to cut some sports.”

Welch noted that Highline’s athletic offerings now include middle school soccer in response to high demand and strong community support for adding that program.

The fee structure will be in place for the 2009-10 school year.

For high school sports, the fees will be:

• $50 per sport ($25 per sport for students who qualify for free or reduced lunch)
• Fees will be charged for up to two sports per student per year; there is no charge for a third season.
• Maximum $175 per family per year ($85 for families qualifying for free or reduced lunch)

Fees for middle school sports will be:

• $30 per sport ($15 for students who qualify for free or reduced lunch)

Fees will be chared for up to two sports per student per year; there is no charge for a third season. Maximum costs will be $105 per family per year ($50 for families qualifying for free or reduced lunch).

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