Pay-to-play plan for pupils placed on board agenda

By: Dick Brinster
   The concept of requiring students to pay to participate in sports and other extracurricular activities, once considered all but dead, is now set for discussion by the East Windsor Regional school board, which seems intent on doing all it can to avoid another defeated budget.
   "If the budget is defeated again and we’re facing having to make a cut, we’d have to consider what our options are," board President Alice Weisman said Wednesday.
   The concept was proposed last spring by board Vice President Bob Laverty, who said other possible sources of revenue need to be examined in the wake of consecutive rejections of budgets by voters in Hightstown and East Windsor.
   In 2005, the combined councils of the borough and township cut the school spending measure by $1 million, and shaved nearly a half-million dollars from the $79.2 million budget after its rejection in April.
   With a lack of support conceded in the spring by Mr. Laverty, the item was never brought up for public discussion. Now it’s on the board’s agenda for its meeting Nov. 27.
   Ms. Weisman said the concept of charging for activities would be aired for informational purposes only, and that the board considers input from voters to be vital in considering all money-saving options.
   "Rather than waiting, we felt it was important to let the community know what options would be considered," Ms. Weisman said. "We don’t want there to be any surprises.
   "We didn’t want to hear afterward that the community didn’t know there were other options. We hope that there’s a good turnout."
   Raising all the funds it can is of particular importance to the district, which in addition to the school budget will ask voters to approve a ballot question next April to establish an all-day kindergarten program. That alone would cost more than $1 million.
   Although they are not commonplace in New Jersey, activities fees are not new.
   Mike Yaple, a spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association, said only about a dozen of the state’s 616 districts have established fees but that about 35 percent of the nation’s schools are charging for nonacademic activities.
   "In some cases in New Jersey, it was done just for a specific sport that was slated to be cut and the parents agreed to pay a fee to keep in going," he said. "In other communities it’s across the board for sports and extracurricular activities.
   Neighboring Washington Township adopted for this school year a charge for all extracurricular activities, setting fees at $100 for one child, $150 for two children and $175 for three or more. The Board of Education was anticipating revenue of $65,000 from the program.
   Mr. Laverty announced in a letter to the editor of the Herald his desire to have pay for play considered but never received public support from fellow board members or administrators. Contacted Thursday, Mr. Laverty declined comment on the decision to place the matter on the agenda.
   Schools Superintendent Ron Bolandi said last spring that he had reservations about the impact such a plan could have on students from less-affluent families. He pointed out that about 1,250 of the district’s 5,000 students took part in the federal program that saved them about $4 a day on lunch.
   The East Windsor school board, which has said it needs to make a concerted effort to keep the public informed, also plans to discuss capital projects Nov. 27.