The costs established by the Howell K-8 School District for middle school students to play interscholastic sports this year are affecting parents just as much as the athletes. Simply put, the costs for students to play are more than parents can afford to pay.
The Howell Board of Education decided during the 2010-11 budget cycle that it could no longer afford to offer the school sports teams, clubs and activities to students free of charge.
In August, the board awarded a contract to the Howell Police Athletic League (PAL) to run the school district’s middle school sports teams and all school activities and clubs. The PAL was authorized to charge a fee per sport or activity.
After initially charging students to participate in school activities and clubs, the board decided it would foot the bill for those programs. However, fees for the middle school sports remained and teams that had been part of the middle schools for years are in some cases not in existence this school year.
“We did not try any of the middle school teams because of the cost,” said Connie Schmidt Kirman, the mother of daughters in the fourth and sixth grades. “I do appreciate the reduced costs after PAL took over. The initial costs shocked me.”
Kirman was referring to the fact that before the board hired the PAL, it was considering running the school sports, clubs and activities. The initial participation fees provided by the board were higher than the fees PAL charged once it had been selected to run those programs.
Dawn Silva, the mother of three children, said now that there are high fees involved with school sports activities, it makes it difficult for her to tell her 11-year-old daughter that she cannot be a part of everything.
Basketball players at Howell’s middle schools are paying $450 each to participate this season. Wrestlers at the middle schools are paying $255 each to participate this season. Cheerleaders at the middle schools are paying $190 each for this season.
“Some of the sports are high, but in today’s economy I realize we all have to make some tough decisions,” Kirman said.
Al Miller, the president of the Howell Middle School North PTA, said, “Unfortunately, parents are not able to afford these high costs to put their child into these programs with the current economic times.”
“When I saw that some things were as much as $500, I had to tell my daughter that she couldn’t do everything,” Silva said. “This is sad. You live for that stuff when you go to school.”
Silva said her daughter performs well in school and can handle doing a lot of extracurricular activities and sports so she wanted her child to be able to participate in numerous clubs and activities.
“I wanted her to get involved, but she was only able to pick one thing to do,” she said.A
fter Silva sent in a check, her daughter tried out for cheerleading and made the team. A notice was eventually sent home to parents regarding activities and sports in the school district.
“I was under the impression when I got the notice that (the board) may have found the money to cover sports, but I later found out that only the clubs were covered,” Silva said.
A school district memo dated Oct. 29 that states, “The Howell Board of Education is pleased to announce the return of cost-free middle school co-curricular and club (non-athletic) activities through the PAL. Although these are difficult financial times, the board feels strongly that these programs are an integral part of the educational experience for our students. These programs will once again be offered at no cost to families. We are able to do this due to staff retirement and deferred hiring.”
“What’s the difference between sports and clubs?” Silva asked.
“I found it to be discriminatory,” Silva added. “It’s not fair. If one kid is theatrical, they don’t have to pay? My daughter is sports oriented, so she has to pay?”
“The board felt that (non-sports activities) were an extension of the academic program and perhaps could not be found anywhere else,” Howell Superintendent of Schools Enid Golden said.
Golden said sports teams are available to students through other venues in the community (i.e., recreation leagues and travel teams).
“I heard the thought process behind the decision at a board meeting. It made sense. I can use the recreation department for basketball, but the yearbook club would be harder to duplicate. I do see the value of sports, but something has to give,” Kirman said.
“I don’t mind paying a little (for sports and activities) if it is going to keep my taxes down, but that isn’t the case,” Silva said.
Silva said her daughter is now hesitant to ask for permission to participate in any more sports because the youngster knows that doing so will cost her family extra money.
The situation is also difficult for parents who have more than one child or children who enjoy playing more than one sport, Miller said.
When springtime comes along, Silva said, her young son is going to want to get involved in sports as well.
“(Youth baseball) is even $400,” she said.B
ecause the PAL is its own nonprofit organization, the Howell parent-teacher groups are limited as to how much they can help with fundraising and helping to reduce costs, Miller said.
Miller said that in the current economic times, and with parents paying for sports, the PTA has seen a decrease in fundraising because it is difficult for parents to spread income across so many different areas.
Interscholastic girls basketball is not being offered at Howell’s three middle schools this winter. Participation levels did not meet the minimum requirement (15 players at $450 per player) established by the PAL.
Boys basketball and wrestling are not being offered at Howell Middle School North due to the lack of participation.