Parents of Local Students may soon have to foot the bill……Or the kids may have to get part-time jobs and pay their own way in this tight economy…..Bills are coming due and what is a School System to do?????
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. –from wxii12.com and Click Here to read on and to see video…
A local school system is considering a plan that would add to the budget burden many Triad families are already facing.
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools may charge a fee for athletes to play their sport.
Parents said they feel the burden is being shifted onto them, but they don’t know if there is much they can do about it.
David McDonough said he always sits in the stands and cheers on his son when he makes that great hit or when he steals a base. He supports his son in every way, he said, on the field on and off.
“I would rather him play sports than some other things I can think about,” McDonough said.
Playing could now come at an even higher price. Parents said it’s already expensive just paying for all the gear, like bats, cleats and gloves.
“His glove this year was $300,” McDonough said.
Now the school system wants to charge high school and middle school athletes to play a sport. For high school, the proposal is $40. For middle school, the fee would be $15.
Click above to read on and to see the video…..
I can hear it now.
“I didnt pay to have my kid ride the bench!”
Parents already “pay” for the kids to play sports at the high school level. Most schools have fundraisers that end up being opportunities for the parents and grandparents to pay an extra $100-$200 a year for the child to play the sport. This might not be such a bad idea, because it may stop the kids from coming out for the team that are not serious about the sport. Then the programs will be left with the kids that want to learn and compete and get better and prepare for any college opportunities that they may get. The kids and parents that are just out there to have “fun” can then sit on the sideline and watch the game like they should be doing anyway, instead of taking up the coaches valuable time.
Just because a kid is not ‘serious’ about the sport doesn’t mean they shouldn’t play. It’s not always about winning. Pursuing a scholarship should not be the ultimate goal. That’s not why you play the game.
As for pay to play, it will be no different than our new proposed medical plan. The kids that want to play but cannot afford it will be sponsored by those who have the means. I would hate for money to be the reason a kid does not play. Just means there will be more fundraising and more donations.
I wish they would have had this back when I was in school. My daddy would have paid for the whole county to play.
To Mike C, I made no comment about “winning”. To many families getting a scholorship is EXACTLY why they kids do choose to play the game. It is no different than in the classroom. It is the same as taking a more difficult class in school. You should never deprive a child that wants to participate at the highest level of competition, whether in the classroom or on the field. For the kids that want to play and test themselves against the highest level of athletics why should they be held back on the field? You don’t ask the kids that want to take calculus to sit in a class of basic math. This is why Guilford County sports has deteriorated so much in the last couple of years. It is not about being the best you can be, it is about keeping the parents of little “Joey” happy so he can sit on the bench while his parents demand him some playing time from the coach or athletic department because their son is “entitled”. All of this is why so many kids are going to private schools to play athletics or playing for “travel” teams instead of school teams.
Most of us would rather see a “pay if you play” plan in place than the alternative of cutting out sports programs all together which has taken place in other parts of the country.
Billy, so you’re saying the less athletic kids are holding back the more athletic from being ‘all they can be’? That’s a new one. If kids want to play, let them play. It’s as simple as that. There is much more to be gained that just playing the sport itself.