Lemont High School Adopts Extracurricular Fees for 2011-2012 Academic Year

Beginning this fall, students at will be charged participation fees for athletics and extracurricular activities.

The Lemont High School District 210 Board of Education voted unanimously Monday night to approve extracurricular activity participation fees for the 2011-2012 school year.

District 210 Supt. Sandra Doebert said during the meeting that the fees would offset a small portion of the costs associated with extracurriculars, including transportation, tournament entry fees, and stipends for coaches and sponsors.

To keep up with the ongoing costs of maintaining the school's athletic fields and facilities, the district has increased usage fees for the first time since 2005.

According to Tony Hamilton, director of school and community relations for District 210, the new fees reflect the standards established by other area high schools. All users, except Lemont High School organizations and those with contracts with the district, will be charged a usage fee.

Updated charges and agreements can be found on the district's website. The documents are effective Jan. 1, 2012.

Extracurricular fees

According to the District 210 website, the fee for most sports will be $75—with the exception of football, which costs $100.

The fees did not increase for two activities that were already high in cost—cheerleading ($300) and poms/dance ($535). Doebert said participants in those programs already paid high fees to cover costs like uniforms, costumes and camps.

The cost for competitive extracurricular activities—such as chess club, Future Business Leaders of America, Mathletes and Scholastic Bowl—will be $25. The cost for speech team will be $75.

The cost for all non-competitive extracurriculars—including drama club, National Honor Society, yearbook and student council—will also be $25.

There will be no charge for class activities or community service clubs, such as Interact and peer mediation.

There will be a cap of two fees for athletics, and a cap of two fees for competitive and non-competitive extracurricular activities.

For a complete list of costs, click here.

Responding to challenging economic times

District 210 officials said the implementation of participation and usage fees is another step in a plan to limit expenditures and generate additional revenue, which has become necessary in light of financial difficulties of the state and federal government.

Since 2008 the district has cut spending in a number of areas, including field trips, professional development, departmental budgets, textbook purchases, vendor contracts, salaries and wages.

According to Hamilton, District 210 is currently operating with a budget deficit of about $1 million. However, the district has more than $18 million in its reserve funds—approximately 86 percent of its annual budget.

"District 210's goal is to make those funds last as long as possible," according to a news release.

Moving forward, the district will continue making reductions and seeking new grants and sources of revenue, Hamilton said.

"Providing a quality education for all Lemont High School students still is the top priority for District 210, its administration and its board of education," the release said.

"The district takes this responsibility seriously, and will continue to look for the best ways to utilize its available resources in order to fulfill its mission, which is for all of its students to become life-long learners and productive citizens in a rapidly changing world."