Burke County (N.C.) Trying To Eliminate Pay-To-Play After 1 Year

June 11, 2012 /
The News Herald, Paul Schenkel and Cheryl M. Shuffler

http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2012/jun/11/1000-burke-student-athletes-charged-new-pay-play-f-ar-2347471/

Nearly 56 percent of Burke County’s student athletes paid to play sports during the 2011-12 school year, after the school system instituted pay-to-play fees because of budget constraints.

The News Herald reported that the middle and high school athletic departments collected $91,525 in fees, plus $12,834 in student insurance, from 1,008 students, according to a revenue report from school finance officer Keith Lawson. Eight hundred students were exempt from paying.

The Burke County Board of Education is hopeful pay-to-play is finished.

When Lawson created the coming fiscal year’s budget, he eliminated the pay-to-play program.

But in a May 22 joint meeting with county officials about the Burke County Board of Commissioners’ proposed budget decreasing local school funding by $2.9 million, pay-to-play was on Lawson’s list of changes the school board would have to reconsider.

While the school system and county continue to work on a compromise to local funding, school board members Sam Wilkinson, Buddy Armour and Catherine Thomas, chair, say they do not want student athletes to have to pay to participate in sports.

“That is one of the things we hope to eliminate,” Wilkinson said of pay-to-play. “I don’t think it’s right to ask kids to pay, but it was do that or do away with middle school sports,” he continued referring to the decision school board members made to institute pay-to-play last year.

Thomas said the board would find a way to work around it.

“We don’t want it to happen again,” she said.

The fee for middle schoolers was $75 and high schoolers was $100 for up to three sports.

Not every student was forced pay the fee, however. Students on the system’s free- and reduced-lunch programs were exempt.

Wilkinson helped set up a fund to help athletes who had difficulty paying the fees, and he, Armour and Thomas contributed some of their monthly board member stipend.

The school athletic departments held fundraisers, too. Draughn High School sold sportswear, raffled off tires and hosted a low country boil and Freedom High School hosted a wrestling tournament, car washes and collected cell phones to recycle.

In addition, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association made a one-time payment of $1,000 to each member school.

Coaches and athletic directors didn’t like that athletes had to pay but understood the need.

Freedom boys basketball coach Casey Rogers said, “I think the fact that it could potentially be going away is a great thing for the kids, the schools and the community. You never want a kid denied the chance to play a sport or a family in any undue hardship. These are tough times for everybody, and I know why the school system had to do this, but it would be great to do away with it for good if we can.”

East Burke athletic director Jim Childers said, “We never wanted anything like this for our athletes. It was just a tricky spot to be in, because of course everyone wants to keep middle school and high school sports, but at what price?

“We set up payment plans for the families that needed them, where they could pay in installments over the course of the year. I didn’t hear of anyone not being able to play because of it, but there were some disgruntled parents for sure. In some sports, you have cleats, equipment or some other expenses to pay without that fee. So it has the potential to get costly for a lot of folks.”


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