A concern for school sports resulting from the underfunding of schools, which began long before our state’s current economic recession, is that desperation will drive many schools to do long-term if not permanent damage to interscholastic athletics.

For example, some districts will turn junior high/middle school sports over to community groups.  Those districts will find high school sportsmanship decline because the students and their parents’ orientation into the philosophies and policies of educational athletics was delayed.

Some districts will turn to participation fees, to “pay for play.”  These districts will find this reduces participation, especially on the subvarsity levels, and in winter and spring sports, and with the second, third and fourth children in a family.  These are really anti-participation fees.

And ironically, these districts will learn that the imposition of anti-participation fees actually worsens school district finances.  New families moving into communities will enroll their children where there are not fees.  And with school of choice, many families will transfer their children to schools where there are not participation fees.

The loss of state aid for one student costs the district more than the participation fees for 100 athletes.  It’s a bad business plan.

No, in this day and age of competition between schools for students, extracurricular programs (speech, music, debate, drama and sports) are not luxuries.  They are the features that attract and hold students. 

These programs are not only good educationally for the kids, they’re good economically for schools and communities.