Gormley Wants
to Cut MHS Club Fees
By Scott MacKeen
Staff Writer
8/25/11
The fees that Milton High School students pay to participate in sports and clubs will remain the same this year, but Superintendent Mary Gormley says she’ll consider next year finding a way to eliminate the club fees.

“I think that’s a realistic goal,” said Gormley of ending the practice of charging students to join after-school clubs and activities.

Right now, Milton High students must pay $100 to join an after-school club. Gormley said that fee was put in place four years ago.

“That was a real disappointment for me,” she said. “In a public school, no one should have to pay a fee to join a club. I know there are people at the high school who don’t go out for those clubs because of the fees.”

Gormley said next year she will look at “creative programming” such as grants or donations to potentially eliminate the fees.

However, she said, the athletics fees are a different story. She said the costs associated with running the teams combined with tight budgets makes it difficult to lower the current rates.

Students pay $500 to play hockey and $250 for any other sport. There is a family cap of $1,500 for hockey and $1,250 for other sports, meaning families that reach that amount in fees are not charged for extra sports over the cap.

John Rhee, president of Friends of Milton Crew, said the organization plans to again offer a rowing program to Milton High students this fall. While specific details were unavailable at press time, Rhee said he believes the participation fee would likely remain at $700 and there would be two programs: one for returning rowers and one for beginners.

Gormley said students’ involvement in sports has a “direct result on improving student achievement.”

“If we weren’t living under the same constraints that all people are living under, that would be one of my top goals,” said Gormley of reducing the sports fees. “However, that’s what we have to settle [for] for this year. I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to go and eliminate the athletic fees completely.”

Prior to the last increase two years ago, the fees were $200 for all sports. Even with the higher rates, Milton High Athletic Director Steve Traister said he hasn’t seen a drop in participation.

“It’s cyclical. One year, one [sport] goes up and another goes down,” he said.

According to Traister, 966 students played sports three years ago, 1,029 played two years ago, 997 played the 2009-2010 school year, and 1,003 played this past school year.

Gormley said students who can’t afford the fees can apply for a voucher through the school’s free-and-reduced lunch program. The application process is anonymous and the form is available at www.miltonps.org.

“We never turn anyone away,” said Traister.