Athletic Fees to Drop by Nearly Half

Arlington's on Tuesday passed a proposal to cut athletic fees at  by 46 percent.

The committtee voted 5-0 to approve the proposal by the Athletics Advisory Committee, which studied last week several options for the reduction.

Fees for most sports will decrease by about 40 percent or more. The highest decrease is in cross-country, where fees will drop from last year’s $480 to $100 per student, a 79 percent difference. Cheerleading is next, with a drop from $408 to $100, or 75 percent.

The reductions are less significant for Arlington High School’s most expensive sports—ice hockey, gymnastics and football. Ice hockey fees will drop from $720 to $700 (3 percent); gymnastics will ldrop from $720 to $600 (17 percent); and football will decrease from $528 to $500 (5 percent).

Without counting ice hockey, football and gymnastics, the average reduction in fees for the other sports is about 53 percent.

Officials have said said most of the cost will be offset by $100,000 stemming from this . Officials are also counting on $43,000 in Community Development Block Grant, a federal program that provides low-income students with scholarships for situations like this.

Here's the new fee schedule: