Warriors: We Pay Too Much for School Fields

The president of the Hopatcong Warriors told the Hopatcong School Board Monday he doesn't think it's fair that the group pays so much in facility fees.

Every year, Warriors President Gene Clarke said, the private youth program must pay an unfair amount of money to use school facilities.

The program provides football and cheerleading activities to 325 Hopatcong students in grades K-8, has been around for 25 years, and is the largest youth group in town he said.

A resident asked school board President Cliff Lundin about the total amount of fees charged to all of the sports and recreation groups; he said it was about $10,000.

Clarke asked how the Board can justify charging the Hopatcong Warriors almost one third of those total fees.

Lundin responded by saying that as costs go up, fees go up.

Clarke requested a list of what other groups in town are paying for fees which he said he expects to receive within a few days.

Clarke said the Warriors' total budget is $65,000 annually and the $85 annual registration fee paid by each student doesn’t cover what it costs to run the organization. He said the cost of football equipment, insurance, and referee fees add up quickly.

Clarke said the organization is hoping to eventually purchase its own piece of property because to date, it has been at the mercy of the borough, which doesn’t have enough fields for all of the students. Rather, they play in four or five fields scattered around the town, he said.

Earlier this month, the borough told the Warriors more research is necessary before it could consider a deal for a piece of borough-owned land that would become the program's home.

Clarke said when he approached the mayor and council at a June  meeting, the mayor was surprised at how much the Warriors were expected to pay in fees to the Board of Education.

He said discussions about the fees will continue in the coming weeks.

In a related matter, the school approved the setup of a joint committee with the Hopatcong Board of Education Facilities Committee and members of the Hopatcong Borough Council to inventory, study and determine areas available and feasible for field usage.