Pay to Play

[MSWR0319]

Just curious how many schools require a fee to play high school sports. Our school has a $50 fee for each sport and to be honest, I have no idea what it's for.

[SnuggleBuggles]

No fee
I assume it covers things like buses, team uniforms, overhead costs, refs…


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[georgiegirl]

No. Is that even legal at a public school? We don’t have to pay for anything. For swimming, team suits and caps are required, but I assume there’s a way to get around that if necessary. For track, they give out uniforms (you have got return them at the end of the season), but you need to buy your own shoes and spikes (obviously). All the teams offer shirts and hoodies for purchase. There is also a voluntary fund for things like senior night, coaches gifts,etc. that is run by a parent volunteer. Usually the suggested donation is $35.


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[anonomom]

My kids aren't in sports, but for the arts classes/extracurriculars at their high school, there are "fair share" payments that cover things like sheet music, licensing fees, uniforms, competitions, etc. It's $100/year for chorus and iirc, several hundred dollars (possibly as high as $1k?) for marching band, though in both cases, money is built into the budget to help out families that can't afford the fee.

[bcafe]

None. When I was growing up we had a "towel" fee, but that was for the cost of washing the towels during sports seasons. If I remember correctly, it was very inexpensive.

[MommyAllison]

Yes, high school boys soccer was approx $35 fee to the school, plus a suggested donation ($60 IIRC) to the soccer fund (organized by moms not the school), and we were encouraged to join the booster club ($50+) which provides meals and drinks to athletes for away games. It was still SO much cheaper than club soccer!

[Kindra178]

Us too, about the same. Middle school is $150! We are a small district for middle school and can’t get buses. The cost is associated with charter bus retention.


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[MrsZaz]

in CT we pay to play. Currently $165.00 per sport. Football provides pads and helmets but lacrosse does not.

[MSWR0319]

No. Is that even legal at a public school? We don’t have to pay for anything. For swimming, team suits and caps are required, but I assume there’s a way to get around that if necessary. For track, they give out uniforms (you have got return them at the end of the season), but you need to buy your own shoes and spikes (obviously). All the teams offer shirts and hoodies for purchase. There is also a voluntary fund for things like senior night, coaches gifts,etc. that is run by a parent volunteer. Usually the suggested donation is $35.


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That was the question that sparked my question! None of the other schools around us do it. I was talking to someone and they didn't even know schools could still do that, so I was curious what others schools did. My understanding is that the athletic boosters pay for all of the uniforms, new equipment, etc. The school only pays for the coach and bussing as far as I know and we just use school busses. The fee goes to the school though, not the boosters. Kids have to buy their own swim suits, shoes for track, etc like you mentioned.

[Tenasparkl]

There are "donations" here for our choir program, but there are lots of fundraising opportunities and options for those that can't cover the amount. It's pretty $$$ but covers costumes, competition busses, choreographers, other travel etc. I see sports and other activities fundraising, so I assume there are also fees, but have no idea what those are.