Good news for parents and student athletes ? Oxford Schools is no longer a pay-to-play district.
Refund checks will be in the mail as soon as possible.
The Oxford Board of Education Tuesday night voted 7-0 to eliminate the medical (or pay-to-participate) fee for middle school and high school athletics and ‘refund the fees already paid for the 2007-08 school year.?
‘We just want to get away from that business and our intent is to never go back.? said Superintendent Dr. William Skilling. ‘We’re going to get on that immediately and get that money back to our parents.?
‘We’ve already got people on the (school) board volunteering to help to get these checks to parents,? he noted.
The district had been charging $150 per student to participate in high school athletics and $90 per student to play middle school sports.
An increase in student enrollment and the additional revenue rom the state generated by that growth is making all this possible.
Skilling explained that the district originally ‘budgeted conservatively for this fiscal year.?
‘We didn’t plan for any growth in student enrollment this year,? he said. Fortunately, the school district has grown.
‘We’re probably going to fall somewhere between 91 and 96 (new students),? Skilling said.
This translates into approximately $660,870 in additional revenue, according to the superintendent.
This money will allow the district to add teachers, paraprofessionals and purchase some needed equipment.
It also allowed elimination of pay-to-play because it constitutes such a small portion of the budget in Skilling’s opinion.
‘It’s a quarter of one percent of the revenue projected for this year,? he said. That equals approximately $80,000.
The benefits of eliminating pay-to-play far outweighed that money, according to Skilling.
The athletic fees created a ‘hardship and burden? for ‘a lot of families,? especially in these tough economic times.
‘For some parents that have multiple kids playing sports, it gets really pricey,? Skilling said. ‘Then on top of that, parents are writing a lot of checks for other types of things that kids need to play those sports.?
‘We want to take away that burden for parents,? Skilling said. ‘We wanted to take away any barrier for kids to participate in athletics.?
‘Any time schools have gotten rid of (pay-to-play), they’ve always seen an increase in participation rates,? he noted.
To Skilling, athletics, the arts and academics all contribute to students? overall education.
‘There’s certain things you only learn well in athletics, the arts and of course, academics,? he said. ‘For some kids it’s that combination of academics and athletics that helps them be successful.?
When he first interviewed for the superintendent job here, Skilling said he knew ‘pay-to-play’s got to go.?
‘You shouldn’t have it,? he said. ‘That is not the place where you should try to recoup the revenues that you may have lost due to what the state has done. And I just don’t think you do that on the back of the parents, if you can avoid that.?
Eliminating pay-to-play is about more than just dollars and cents to Skilling.
‘Not only are we doing this because we have more funding, but we’re also making a strong statement saying ‘we’re not going back,?? he said. ‘That was the big decision tonight. Yes, we’re going to cut this and we’re not going back. That’s it. We’re done with pay-to-participate. And if we have to nip and tuck, it will be done in other areas.?
‘Our focus now is that when we have to make reductions, the last thing we’re ever going to have to do is cut something that’s going to impact the education of our young people or the opportunities young people have. That’s what’s going to be preserved.?