A proposed $100 per-sport fee in the Medford School District would hit families with students in multiple sports especially hard

Two boys times two sports adds up to a lot of money for Robin Stroh, who’s worried about the pay-to-play plan at Medford schools.

"You bet it’s a hardship for most people," said Stroh, whose twins are in sophomore football and basketball. "That’s $100 per child per sport, and that is going to put a crunch on everybody I know."

The school district has proposed a fee of $100 per sport at the high schools and $50 at middle schools to avoid cutting athletics programs. The plan would affect well over 1,000 students: In the 2002-03 school year, 1,087 students participated in fall sports, 735 in winter sports and 852 in spring sports.

Pay-to-play is also being discussed for the music program as part of an overall plan to cope with a $2.4 million deficit.

Advertisement

Stroh will have no choice but to pay the fees because sports are a big part of her twins’ life. But pay-to-play could hurt others who can’t afford it.

"There are families that can’t even pay for the basketball shoes at $65 a pair," she said.

Stroh believes the school district will come up with a plan to help these families. "Besides everything else a parent has to pay, it’s awful," she said.

Juli Atkinson, a single mother, already pays about $200 a year for shoes, socks and other football equipment for her 17-year-old son, Nick, a junior at North Medford High.

"It’s a lot even if you’re not paying to play," she said.

Atkinson said she will be able to pay the fees, though she’d rather pay in installments or wait until after the beginning of the school year.

School board member Tricia Prendergast said she’s hopeful the business community and residents will come forward with money to help needy children participate in sports.

"We are going to work with people," Prendergast said.

Unfortunately, she doubts the board will have any contingency money to help poor families.

She also doesn’t think a payment plan will work. "We talked to other districts and we found there was so much administration, so much legwork for so little dollars," she said.

Prendergast said pay-to-play will enable the district to avoid cutting athletic programs.

"I really ask for the public’s trust and understanding," she said. "I want them to see how hard we’re working to see this right."

McLoughlin Middle School Principal Amy Tiger said sports help keep many of her students interested in school.

With 45 percent of children on the free and reduced lunch program at McLoughlin, Tiger said, "We have concern with a lot of families that go to our school that it will be financially difficult for them."

She said the district will be looking at creating some kind of safety net to help families that can’t afford the fees.

Other districts in Jackson County have already set up a play-to-play program, as have most districts in the state.

"It puts kind of a damper in your little budget," said Corina Jacobson, an Eagle Point mother of two.

Her children take two sports each, and the $400 annual fee must be paid up front.

Parents have complained about the fee, but Jacobson said she hasn’t heard of an instance where a child was turned down for not having the money.

"I believe they do work with those kids who can’t pay," she said.

Dan Zaklan, Medford schools personnel director, said the proposed fees would raise $150,000 if 75 percent of students participated.

He said there hasn’t been any research to show that 25 percent won’t be able to pay, and the districts he’s looked at so far in Oregon show a high rate of participation.

"All of those numbers are working numbers," said Zaklan.

A more thorough analysis of the fee schedule will be conducted in the next two to three weeks by a committee, which will also look at proposals to help needy families.

"Every place has something built in for hardships," he said.

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail dmann@mailtribune.com

Businesses may give needy students a break

If schools charge a fee to play sports, parents want to make sure needy children aren’t excluded.

Kelly Rasmussen, owner of Jackson Travel and a father of three, is working on a plan that could provide grants from the business community.

"I believe there’s a way the community can get together with the school district," he said. "We can find a way to eliminate most if not all the pay-to-play."

But Rasmussen is concerned that some voters mistakenly believe there is always a safety net that will help save school programs.

The latest round of cuts announced by the district will help make people take notice that programs lost will affect children, he said.

"We’re always losing kids through the cracks for other reasons," he said.