Athletic Director: Assessment of Fees Results in 'Inequities' and Problems

Framingham High’s interim athletic director, in a letter to the Framingham School Committee, believes ”the assessment of athletic fees results in inequities and logistical problems that can be eliminated through their abolition.”

Last week, the Framingham School Committee discussed the possibility of eliminating athletic, busing, and parking fees. No vote was taken.

Interim Athletic Director Ron Sudmyer said having athletic fees creates a “lack of participation in athletics for those who do not qualify for waivers yet consider the fee burdensome for their families.”

Framingham charges $225 per sport, per season to participate in athletics. Those on free and reduced lunch can apply for a full or partial waiver. There is a maximum charge of $900 per family, regardless of how many athletes participate or how many seasons.

Editor’s Note: In full transparency, my daughter plays a sport a Framingham High.

The athletic fee is actually $231.64 per sport, as there is a service fee to pay it electronically; and you can not pay cash or write a check.

“Having witnessed the fee collection process for the first time during registration for winter sports, I believe there are several inherent problems with the system,” said Sudmyer, in his January 4 letter to the School Committee. The letter was not read at last week’s January 5 School Committee meeting.

“The first and most obvious one is the lack of participation in athletics for those who do not qualify for waivers yet consider the fee burdensome for their families. This leads to problem number two. When registering students for a sport, the athletic office converts to a business office. Beyond determining who qualifies for a complete waiver, we have students applying for “partial waivers” based on alleged family hardships. This puts the athletic director in the rather awkward position of determining who has a legitimate need for some relief from the $225 fee. Mrs. Fimlaid, our office manager, and Ms. Freda, our faculty manager, take on treasurer duties in tracking which students have paid full, partial, or no fee. This also places an additional burden on our coaches because they cannot issue uniforms to students who are mandated to pay,” wrote Sudmyer.

“Another problem with the system is the fact that families must pay online. As a result, most end up paying more than $225 because of the additional fee on their credit card. Families wishing to set up a weekly or monthly payment plan do so by sending checks/cash, which creates additional accounting problems for our office,” wrote Sudmyer.

“While I completely subscribe with the view that ’athletics is a privilege and not a right,’ I also believe that the assessment of athletic fees results in inequities and logistical problems that can be eliminated through their abolition,” concluded Sudmyer in his letter.

Framingham School Chief Operating Officer Ed Gotgart told Framingham Patch the athletic fees brought in $201,000 to the district in 2014, according to the latest figures which were available from the athletic department.

He said in addition to the $200,000 collected in athletic fees, another $700,000 is in the operating budget to fund athletics at Framingham High, putting the cost of sports at over $900,000 a year.

The athletic department also has at its disposal, scholarship money donated to the district in the mid 2000s by former Red Sox player and Framingham native Lou Merloni. The money helps students play a sport who couldn’t afford it but doesn’t qualify for a waiver or a partial waiver, explained Gotgart.

Who Pays? Who Does Not?

In 2014, there were 445 athletes in the fall season - 311 athletes paid a fee, 7 were given a partial waiver, 119 had the fee waived and 5 were awarded a Merloni scholarship. A total of $71,000 was collected in fees.

In the winter season, there were 341 athletes - 261 paid a fee, 5 were given partial waivers, 72 had the fee waived and one Merloni scholarship was awarded. A total of $60,000 was collected in fees.

In the spring season, there were 397 athletes - 297 paid a fee, 9 were given partial waivers, and 64 had the fee waived. A total of $70,000 was collected in fees.

Gotgart said there were 1,400 athletes over three seasons in 2015, but did not have a breakdown on waivers.

Former School Committee member Rick Finlay, who is running for election to the Committee again, said even with more than 50 percent of the students on free and reduced lunch, there are many more students, who can’t afford lunch but don’t qualify for the federal program. Some of these students are not playing sports because they can not afford the fee, and don’t qualify for a waiver.

Finlay has called for the athletic fees to be phased out over the next four to five years.

School Committee member Don Taggart said at the Jan. 5 meeting he would consider reducing the fee over several years.

Chair Beverly Hugo said last week she realizes there are three groups of families - those that write the check, those who are granted waivers, and then there is the families with no disposable income and no aid from any sources. She said some of those families have just one child in a single sport when the child could be a 3-season athlete because they can not afford the fees. She said the athletic fee when established was not meant to be permanent and she knows there are some families too proud to come forward and ask for financial help (via the Merloni scholarship), and it is those families that keep her up thinking at night.

Hugo noted less than a dozen athletes received Merloni scholarship money.

Hugo said as the only School Committee member still on the Committee when fees were instituted she never intended to see “fees for half a decade.”

She agreed with Finlay that the Committee said “every year we would reduce fees.” She said the “issue needs to be addressed.”

Framingham Superintendent of Schools Stacy Scott said he was “concerned” that there are students who want to participate in athletics and can not afford it. He did say last week he thinks “fees are in the way.”

Hugo said the discussion on reducing or eliminating athletic fees was not a one night discussion.

She said more study is needed on athletic fees, but especially on bus fees, which were also discussed.

Currently, parents pay a $270 bus fee for students in grades 7-12, who live more than 2 miles from their middle or high school. Students in grades K-6 who live within 2 miles of their school may pay the fee for a bus, if a space is available. K-6 students, who are more than 2 miles from their school, get free transportation. There is a $540 maximum per family. Free transportation is also available for students in the free lunch program.

The Framingham School Committee has not yet scheduled a vote on reducing or eliminating athletic fees.

There are communities in the Commonwealth that do not charge students to play athletics.

How does Framingham’s athletic fee compare?

Below is a list of neighboring high schools, high schools Framingham competes with in athletics, and school districts that the state believes is comparable to Framingham, and what they charge for athletic fees:

• Algonquin Regional charges $200 for an athletic fee
• Andover charges $380 per student or a maximum $760 per family.
• Braintree charges $225 per sport with a maximum of $450 per family, with the exception of ice hockey which is a $400 fee, and a $650 cap.
• Brookline charges $300 fee per sport.
• Everett has no athletic fees.
• Falmouth has no athletic fees.
• Haverhill charges $100 per sport and $600 family maximum. Plus additional fees for ski and ice hockey.
• Lincoln-Sudbury High charges $365 for an athletic fee, with the exception of ice hockey at $500. There is a family cap of $1,095.
• Methuen has no athletic fees.
• Milford charges $125 per sport, except for ice hockey which is $400.
• Natick charges $225 per sport but $400 for ice hockey.
• New Bedford has no athletic fees.
• Peabody is $150 per sport and $300 family cap.
• Waltham has no athletic fees.
• Wellesley charges $250 for an athletic fee with a family cap of $1,500.
• Weston has no athletic fees.

Finlay said the students, who play sports, represent the Framingham Public School district, they should not have to pay to play.

He said there are public school districts that do not charge an athletic fees and other districts, like Framingham, have lower fees.