Asking Puyallup athletes to pay more for school sports isn’t unreasonable.
Schools are being squeezed from all sides and the district must find a way to account for a $3.2 million budget gap. To fill in that gap, the district has proposed reducing the number of coaches, eliminating four half-time elementary school assistant principals and altering summer school opportunities. It’s not a situation that makes anyone happy, but the money has to come from somewhere.
Doubling the athletic fee generates $60,000 and would cover transportation, officiating and equipment costs. This makes sports more self-sufficient and less of a drain on the district. Athletes currently pay $15 per high school sport and $7.50 per junior high sport.
Neighboring Sumner School District doesn’t impose any athletic fees, although many others do. Even if Puyallup’s fee were doubled, it would still be far below Federal Way’s $120 and Gig Harbor’s $65.
Thirty dollars shouldn’t pose much of a financial hardship for most student athletes. But for those it does, the school offers a sliding scale based on eligibility for the school lunch program. We think the plan makes sense.
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