SCARBOROUGH – The new “pay-to-play” proposal, which for the

first time includes activity fees at Wentworth Intermediate School,

was the main focus last week as the Town Council reviewed the $35.3

million budget proposed by interim Superintendent Joanne

Sizemore.

SCARBOROUGH – The proposed Scarborough school budget now under consideration includes an increase of the athletic and club fees imposed a year ago as the department seeks additional sources of revenue to make up for a loss in state and federal funding.

The new “pay-to-play” proposal, which for the first time includes activity fees at Wentworth Intermediate School, was the main focus last week as the Town Council reviewed the $35.3 million budget proposed by interim Superintendent Joanne Sizemore. The budget represents a $200,000 spending increase to the current year’s budget. The budget would cut 23 positions in order to save $1.3 million, and includes some program redesigns in the early grade levels.

The idea of charging students to participate in sports and activities came up during the last school budget process and was implemented for the current school year. The goal was to close a $200,000 gap in the athletic budget, though Sizemore said the district expects to collect roughly 70 percent of the original goal, or $140,000, due to both a drop in participation and the inability to get payment from some participants.

Sizemore said there has been particular difficulty collecting the fees for co-curricular activities at the high school.

The proposal now on the table is to increase athletic and co-curricular activity fees $25 per sport or club. The fee would increase from $100 per sport to $125 per sport, with a cap of $350 per year. High school activities would go from $50 per club to $75 per club. The fee would increase at Scarborough Middle School from $75 per sport to $100 per sport, with a cap of $275 per year. Activity fees at the school would jump from $25 per club to $50 per club.

New this year, a $25 fee would be introduced per club at Wentworth Intermediate School. Principal Anne-Mayre Dexter told the board there are currently 12 clubs operating at the school.

The new fee structure is expected to bring in an additional $58,000 in revenue. In total, the district hopes to collect at least $175,000 through the activity fees.

Bob Mitchell, chairman of the school board’s Finance Committee, said the activity fees are a small part of funding the total athletic budget.

“It is not like activity fees are funding the entire co-curricular expenses,” he said.

Many of his fellow school board members, however, argue that funding part of the budget through activity fees is not the right way to go.

Board member Aymie Hardesty said she feels the approach stymies participation.

“I have a real problem with the activity fees,” she said, telling the board that as the oldest of nine children, she wouldn’t have even thought about participating in sports as a child if she knew there was a fee involved.

Those families who qualify for free or reduced lunch are not required to pay to participate. Other families can get a waiver if they have a difficulty paying the required fee.

Scarborough High School senior Abby Van Note, one of the two student representatives on the school board and a member of the girls soccer team and Key Club, said she is against increasing the fees for next school year and instead suggests keeping the fees as is and trying to bring participation back up to the level it was prior to the introduction of the fees.

“I am not opposed to activity fees,” she said, “but maybe we should keep them where they were this year so we can get everything back up again.”

Board member Jackie Perry said the idea of activity fees is a divisive one. She said she has heard from many people who say since athletics and activities are not part of the academic offerings in the district, it makes sense to charge a fee. On the other hand, she told the board, she has heard from people who are against the fee-based system.

“If we are going to have these activities, we’ve got to find a way to pay for them,” she said. “This is not perfect, but it is the only thing we have right now.”

Mitchell said it is important to find ways to fund these activities because they are enrichment to the educational experience for students in Scarborough schools.

School board Chairman Chris Brownsey said while he does not support activity fees, having them in next year’s budget is not his greatest concern with the proposed budget.

“Of the parts I am concerned about in the budget, co-curricular activities and athletics is not it,” he said.

It was, however, one of the concerns brought to the board by Jeff Porter, the only member of the public to speak at the meeting. He said he is against the fee system because, although there are waivers, students’ ability to pay, in many ways, restricts their ability to participate.

A public hearing on the budget is set for Thursday, March 17 at 7 p.m. at the Municipal Offices.