By Brandi Watters
The Herald Bulletin
PENDLETON, Ind. —
The school board has chosen to forgo imposing “pay to play” fees on students this coming school year, but the board didn’t have much choice in the matter, according to South Madison board member Chris Boots.
The South Madison Community School Corp. had been considering charging students fees to participate in extracurricular activities.
Superintendent Tom Warmke said that a fee schedule was established for the board’s consideration.
The schedule would have meant that each high school student would pay $50 per sport with students on the free and reduced lunch program paying $25.
Middle school students would pay $30 per sport, with free and reduced lunch students paying $15 per sport.
Warmke said the fees would be capped and participation in a third sport would not be charged.
On Monday, Boots said the school board backed away from the plan, not because it dislikes the plan, but because it learned the fee might be unconstitutional.
That’s because a cost-saving measure taken by the school district last year has plunged the school district into a unique conundrum.
Last year, after hearing that it was an option from Superintendent of Public Education Tony Bennett, the school district began offering school physical education credit to those participating in athletics, cheerleading and marching band.
This allowed the school to eliminate one physical education teaching position, Warmke said.
While “pay to play” would save the school $35,000, he said, the elimination saved at least $63,000.
In Indiana, public schools cannot charge tuition to students because it flies in the face of the Indiana Constitution, Boots said.
Since extracurricular activities now earn academic credit, charging students to participate would equate to charging tuition, he said.
Boots said the board learned this after the Indiana State School Board Association issued a warning to schools thinking of imposing fees.
“I think that’s why the board is saying i don’t know if we can do that or not,” Boots said.
Warmke said the board didn’t want to burden families. “I think part of it was because of the money it would generate not being a significant amount and the problems it could possibly create for some families that are financially stressed.”
Boots said the fee structure being proposed by cash-strapped schools across the state could be called into question as well.
“It’s opened a big can of worms. Our hands are really tied at this point,” he said.
Contact Brandi Watters, 640-4847, brandi.watters@heraldbulletin.com
