High school sports come at a price in some districts

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Pay to Play or Pay to Participate varies from district to district, from hundreds of dollars a sport to nothing at all.

“Two hundred dollars for the first sport and it’s fifty dollars for each sport after that at the high school level,” said Jeff Cassella, Athletic Director at Mentor High School.

Mentor enacted its Pay for Play policy about 20 years ago. In Twinsburg, which has had Pay to Participate since a budget tightening in 2012, the district calculates it differently.

“It equates to thirty percent of what it costs to run any of our activities, thirty percent for athletics, thirty percent for all of our activities as well,” said Kathi Powers, Superintendent of Twinsburg Schools.

The 30 percent is up from 25 percent a couple years ago and families get capped at $500 in the district. The fees not only extend to sports but also include National Honor Society, Model UN, Student Council, Yearbook, and other school activities, although not as expensive as sports like football.

“Anything that would require there to be an advisor, a paid advisor, those are the things for which pay to participate fees are assessed for the students,” said Powers.

About half the districts in Ohio have Pay for Play but some districts where family budgets are tighter or sports are a higher priority to helping keep students engage, like Cleveland and Cleveland Heights, districts absorb the cost of sports.

“We are not pay for play,” said Joe D’Amato, Cleveland Heights High School Athletic Director.

“I think we feel it’s very important because if allow for students to participate in as many sports as possible,” continued D’Amato. “I think, for some of our families, it wouldn’t be a reality to participate in some of our sports if we didn’t provide that funding for them.”

Sometimes Booster Club can help with some extra costs but the districts are on the hook for equipment, balls, referees, coaches, and getting the kids to the game.

“Transportation is a big thing. I mean, you’re talking about feeding kids too,” said D’Amato.

”You have officials, you have game workers, you have just the equipment to be on the field,” said Cassella. “We’re paying greens fees and tennis court rentals and swim pool rentals because we don’t have our own pool here in Mentor.”

“I think the two hundred dollars is a pretty good value,” said Cassella. “I don’t think it’s going away.”

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