Framingham High Athletic Fee to Be Reduced by 50 Percent in 2016-17

Framingham School Committee voted Tuesday night to reduce the athletic fee for Framingham High students, by 50 percent for the upcoming 2016-17 school year.

The Committee had considered proposals to reduce the fee by 25 percent, 50 percent, and eliminate the fee completely, but in the end choose a 50 percent option.

Framingham charges $225 per sport, per season to participate in athletics this year.

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.

The Committee voted Tuesday night to reduce athletic fees to $110 per student, per season, and have a family cap of $440.

Editor’s Note: In full transparency, my daughter plays a sport at Framingham High and I have paid the fee.

Presently, about 50 percent of Framingham High School is on free and reduced lunch, which means those students are eligible for full or partial waivers of the athletic fee.

The athletic department collects about $200,000 in fees to support its more than $900,000 budget.

Last month, 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.”

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.”

Also last month, Former School Committee member and candidate for the Committee Rick FInlay came before the School Committee requesting a reduction in athletic fees, stating it was reducing the number of athletes participating in sports at Framingham High and was unfair to some families who could not pay the fee.

He asked for the fee to be phased out and eventually eliminated within 4-5 years.

The new $110 per student, per season athletic fee will begin with the 2016-2017 school year.

The School Committee is required, per its policy, to vote on the athletic fee annually.