Parents, coaches rail against increasing 'pay to play' fees

In Massachusetts, Finneran will continue to look at ways to provide funding to schools so they can reduce fees. "This is not a pattern that I would want to see accelerate or expand. I'd like to begin to restore things so that those fees go the way of the dinosaurs," the speaker said at a press conference last month.

Finneran is not alone. In South Dakota in 1995, the state attorney general said that charging fees was not permitted under state law, according to Wayne Carney, executive director of the South Dakota High School Activities Association. And a state Supreme Court ruling in California in 1984 ruled that extracurriculars are a district's responsibility.

To many Massachusetts superintendents, Finneran's logic makes sense. "I think [Finneran] is right, schools should be providing these resources," says John Ritchie, superintendent in the Lincoln-Sudbury district. "But if you suddenly make [fees] illegal, programs are going to disappear."

And that is exactly what the community doesn't want. Dr. Ritchie says that when his district faced budget cuts this year, the school canceled the JV ice hockey and gymnastics teams. There was uproar, he says. So they restored the programs and increased fees across the board instead.

Experts say it's a fairly new pattern being repeated largely across suburban schools. A recent USA Today survey of high school sports groups nationwide found that schools in 34 states charge students to play sports.

The system is intended to maintain activities programs, but it also drives down participation. In Fairfield, Ohio, many parents are willing to pay rather than see some programs disappear. Yet Mr. Spenceley, a parent of three, says fall sports participation has fallen by 30 percent. They anticipate the same for school clubs. This, he says, is discouraging, especially when considering the emphasis that colleges place on well-roundedness.

And in small towns where weekend games are an integral part of community life, most families will find a way to keep their child on the roster - no matter the cost. Local politicians aren't likely to rail against fees, either. "You don't want to be the politician responsible for canceling football," says Mike Griffith, a policy analyst at Education Commission of the States.

For many parents, the extra expense is just part of the routine of sending kids to special camps, buying extra uniforms, and paying for travel, says Eric Exline, public information officer for Meridian Joint School District in Idaho. There the school district faced a $3.4 million budget shortfall for this school year and adopted a one-time $50 fee for high school activities, and $25 for middle schoolers. Mr. Exline says they hope to generate close to $200,000, just 10 percent of coaching fees.

Even if the economy picks up, some say fees are unlikely to be rolled back. "Once parents get past the initial shock ... then they become sort of immune to it," says Mr. Griffith. And "once a fee is being charged ... schools tend to stick with it."

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