By: Scott Morgan
Predictably, there has been some flap concerning the Washington Township School District’s plan to charge an activities fee for students who want to be involved in school-sponsored sports or clubs.
Initially, this idea smacks of something shifty not the least reason being that in educational circles around the state, the increasingly popular idea is nicknamed "pay to play." But moving past the gut reactions, this is a very valid idea. Though such a plan has not been enacted by very many districts in fact a similar plan was broached in the East Windsor Regional School District in May, but was unceremoniously and short-sightedly discarded for lack of support the basic idea is circulating in a number of school systems around the state. School boards and municipal governments would be wise to follow Washington’s example.
Too often, reactionaries rile people up with the word "taxes." Though criticism of the school district’s activities fee plan has been far less vociferous than it could be, there has been a definitively tax-horror-related undercurrent amid the criticism. Some foes of the plan suggest that in a climate of ever-escalating school taxes, it is simply one more bad idea to ask parents to pay for their children’s extracurricular activities.
A second, lingering objection to the district’s plan ended last week when the school board amended its original idea to keep the $100 fee of any student who did not make a team or club. The fee does not guarantee that children will make the final cut on anything and, until last week, any fee paid for even trying out was to be the permanent property of the school district. Now, the district plans to refund parents who paid a fee but whose children did not participate in after-school activities.
Though it is understandable that district officials would like to cause as little stress to its parents as possible, the district should have refrained from agreeing to refund activities fees. The fee is only paid once for the entire year and once it is paid, a child can try out for anything he or she wants, multiple times. Besides, it is an unfortunate fact that life carries only two well-known guarantees.
The plain fact is that a fairer way of raising money for school activities has yet to be proposed. Unlike a blanket tax increase, only the parents of those children interested in participating in sports or clubs will foot the bill. This, of course, negates any argument built around the "Why should I pay for a baseball team when I hate baseball and my kid can’t play it anyway?" philosophy. Shaving $65,000 off the budget also will have a profoundly positive psychological effect at tax time, as the budget will not reflect an increase based on extracurricular programs.
Overall, the district is hoping to raise about $65,000 through the fees to help pay for the activities. In large measure, it should have no problem reaching that goal, even if some of the money initially raised will be returned to parents.
By introducing what would better be called a "fair share" contribution to the budget, the Washington Township School District could become a sorely-needed role model for other districts and municipalities struggling to find ways to cut costs. Other officials at any level of government would be wise to pay attention.
