Rick O'Brien: Pay to play may happen here if monetary woes continue

Pay to play might soon become normal.

At two high schools in the Bethlehem Area School District, Freedom and Liberty, a proposed $181 million budget includes a plan for students to pay $50 per season to play a PIAA-sanctioned sport. Middle schoolers would be asked to pay $25 per season. There are three seasons at each level.

In this harsh economic climate, where things are expected to get worse before they get better, cost-cutting measures are being considered by most school districts. Administrators are trying to tighten the fiscal belt wherever possible.

Most area suburban public high schools do not require a fee to participate in sports, but that could change because of the nationwide recession.

"Pay to play hasn't come up yet for us," Quakertown athletic director David Babb said. "We're just starting to work on next year's budget with our superintendent. It may be something that happens down the line."

The Council Rock School District is another pay-free zone. For now, anyway.

"It's not something we've looked into yet," Council Rock South athletic director John "Buff" Radick said. "That's not to say it's something we wouldn't consider in the future."

The pay-to-play concept is nothing new for Catholic League schools - or some suburban schools. At Wissahickon, athletic director Tom Meier estimated that students have been required to pay $50 per year (not per season) to participate in sports or club activities since 1992.

Because it is a nominal fee, Meier, the AD since 2001, said "it's never been a problem since I've been here."

The plan in the Bethlehem Area School District includes a fee waiver or reduced costs for low-income students who qualify for free and reduced-price federal lunch programs. Meier said Wissahickon has the same policy.

According to Meier, Wissahickon administrators previously discussed the possibility of adding a $25 fee per sport to the $50 yearly charge. "That would have been more of an administrative hassle than anything, so that never came about," he said.

At most Catholic League schools, in addition to rising school tuition, students pay a per-sport fee.

To play football at West Catholic, for example, the fee is $75. On top of that is a "clothing package" fee of about $125. That covers cleats, shorts, shirts, mouthpiece, etc.

"I don't know of a Catholic League school that doesn't have a fee to play a sport," said Brian Fluck, West Catholic's athletic director and head football coach.

Fluck said West Catholic's per-sport fee would increase to $100 in 2009-10. In football, the players can sell advertisements for the program to cover both the sport fee and "clothing package" charge.

According to Radick, Council Rock, which split into North and South in 2002, had a pay-to-play policy in the "late 1980s or early 1990s." The cost, he estimated, was between $30 and $35 per year.

Schools across the country are grappling with how to trim the costs associated with playing sports: travel, officiating fees, scorekeepers, etc.

Last fall, the Suburban One League went from an enrollment-only alignment to a "hybrid" format - which is mostly based on geography and somewhat on enrollment. For most schools, that switch lowered the costs associated with travel.

In the case of Council Rock South, for example, it mostly competes against fellow Bucks County schools in the National Conference, with the exception of Abington.

"It has absolutely impacted our travel costs," Radick said. "That's been a positive."

The recession has also brought about the idea of trimming games to save money. The New York State Public High School Athletic Association recently approved reduced schedules in baseball and football for next school year.

Baseball teams that play 24 regular-season games will now play only 20. In football, it will go from 10 regular-season games to nine or eight, depending on the region.

Nina Van Erk, executive director of the NYSPHSAA, estimated that schools statewide will save more than $3 million in officiating costs alone.

If the economic doldrums continue, the possibility of such cost-cutting measures could surface locally. The effect on students would be part of the decision.