Whitko Approves 'Pay To Play'

July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.

By Daniel [email protected]

Barring a change, athletes at Whitko High School will have to pay $80 to participate in sports next year.

The Whitko School Board voted unanimously Monday night to adopt the policy that will start in the 2010-11 school year.

Whitko Superintendent Steve Clason said it's up to the board if they want to change the fee rates.

Monday night the rates were set so that high school athletes will be charged $80, middle schoolers will be charged $50 and elementary students will be charged $30.

Clason said a lot of research was done and the rates were set based on that research.

The high school's athletic department will put more money aside to create scholarships.

Director of Financial Operations Tom McFarland addressed an idea by parent Cheri Hartman.

Earlier in the meeting Hartman suggested charging every extracurricular activity a fee.

McFarland said that they couldn't charge the same rate for some activities if the money taken in was more than what was allocated for the sponsor. McFarland said that would cause a write-up from the state board of accounts during the school corporation's audit.

Enough write-ups could adversely affect a school's budget.

The fee is set based per student regardless of whether the student plays multiple sports.

In other business, the board approved a change in graduation requirements at the high school.

Since Whitko is moving from trimesters to semesters, Principal Parrish Kruger said that there is less opportunity for students to earn credits. Therefore, Core 40 requirements will be lowered from 46 to 42 credits and basic graduation requirements will move from 42 to 40 credits.

Graduation at the high school will be June 4 at 7:30 p.m. at WHS.

Earlier in the meeting, Hartman brought up concerns about the pay-to-play option.

She also asked if a school board votes against a state mandate would the school system be sanctioned.

Clason said a school system could face sanctions based on what the state mandate was.

"That's a dictatorship to me," said Hartman.

Hartman also said during school board meetings she'd like to see board members vote by showing their hands rather than saying "aye".

Marvin McNew, band director, presented information about a coffee shop project the band has done. The band has worked a coffee shop to help fund events they attend. McNew said the shop is averaging a $50 profit every two weeks.[[In-content Ad]]

Barring a change, athletes at Whitko High School will have to pay $80 to participate in sports next year.

The Whitko School Board voted unanimously Monday night to adopt the policy that will start in the 2010-11 school year.

Whitko Superintendent Steve Clason said it's up to the board if they want to change the fee rates.

Monday night the rates were set so that high school athletes will be charged $80, middle schoolers will be charged $50 and elementary students will be charged $30.

Clason said a lot of research was done and the rates were set based on that research.

The high school's athletic department will put more money aside to create scholarships.

Director of Financial Operations Tom McFarland addressed an idea by parent Cheri Hartman.

Earlier in the meeting Hartman suggested charging every extracurricular activity a fee.

McFarland said that they couldn't charge the same rate for some activities if the money taken in was more than what was allocated for the sponsor. McFarland said that would cause a write-up from the state board of accounts during the school corporation's audit.

Enough write-ups could adversely affect a school's budget.

The fee is set based per student regardless of whether the student plays multiple sports.

In other business, the board approved a change in graduation requirements at the high school.

Since Whitko is moving from trimesters to semesters, Principal Parrish Kruger said that there is less opportunity for students to earn credits. Therefore, Core 40 requirements will be lowered from 46 to 42 credits and basic graduation requirements will move from 42 to 40 credits.

Graduation at the high school will be June 4 at 7:30 p.m. at WHS.

Earlier in the meeting, Hartman brought up concerns about the pay-to-play option.

She also asked if a school board votes against a state mandate would the school system be sanctioned.

Clason said a school system could face sanctions based on what the state mandate was.

"That's a dictatorship to me," said Hartman.

Hartman also said during school board meetings she'd like to see board members vote by showing their hands rather than saying "aye".

Marvin McNew, band director, presented information about a coffee shop project the band has done. The band has worked a coffee shop to help fund events they attend. McNew said the shop is averaging a $50 profit every two weeks.[[In-content Ad]]
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