Pay-to-Play, Parking Fees Approved By Suffield School Board

SUFFIELD, CT — Faced with a request from the Board of Finance to trim more than $475,000 from its proposed 2019-20 budget, the Suffield Board of Education has decided to implement fees for sports participation and for student parking.

Under the new policy, student-athletes will pay $75 per sport played, with a family's maximum cost per year capped at $225. Students will also be charged $100 a year for parking at the high school.

Some neighboring towns have charged similar fees for a number of years. Enfield High School students pay $100 a year for a parking pass, and $100 per sport for student-athletes. Some sports even have additional surcharges, such as ice hockey ($500) and golf ($100).

Athletic Director Mike Bosworth said, "I do not think all the details are worked out yet," in reference to a question from Patch about the possibility of additional fees for those expensive sports.

"Due to the Board of Finance reductions to the Board of Education's adopted budget, the board was forced to find ways to eliminate $500,000 from our 2019-2020 budget," school board chair Susan Davis said in an email to Patch. "The board wanted to limit the reduction of any type of staffing and/or instructional supports that would directly impact student learning, such as personnel (teachers, support staff), programs, instructional supplies, etc. The Board of Education believed that implementing a small fee to pay to participate and pay to park was the best way to mitigate the negative effects of such a reduction in our district’s budget."

In response to a query from Patch regarding possible loss of participation from some student-athletes due to the fee implementation, Bosworth responded, "It is a little tough to tell at this point, because we have never done it before. I think the first year, we really need to keep the fee low so that it is not such a shocker to the community. I am sure we will lose a couple of kids with the fee, but hopefully not a bunch."