Pay-to-Play Activity Fee Considered by Pine-Richland School Board

A pay-to-play activity fee is being considered by the Pine-Richland School Board as a way to generate revenue and help close a $1.5 million budget gap.

School Board Chairman Stephen Hawbaker estimated that if the district charged students a $100 annual activity fee to participate in any school activity, it could raise $100,000, based on what he called a conservative estimate of having 1,000 students participate.

The idea was one of many discussed Wednesday night during a nearly four-hour finance committee meeting that was attended by all nine members of the school board.

Pine-Richland School District's $63 million proposed budget calls for no tax increase; about $1.5 million in cuts are needed to balance it.

The board votes on the proposed final budget May 9, and a final budget will be adopted June 13. 

The board spent the evening discussing potential sources of revenue -- the activity fee, advertising and sponsorships -- as a way to help balance a budget.

Proposed cuts have been discussed at previous meetings; for story. 

At Wednesday's meeting, the board discussed a series of questions.

One was whether the board and public could have access to a line-item budget.

"It is a working document for staff, " explained Superintendent Dr. Mary Bucci. "It changes all the time. ... There are thousands and thousands and thousands of line items."

After considerable discussion, the board directed Director of Finance and Operations Dana Siford to put together a budget that could be made public; then the board will decide at Monday's meeting if it is comfortable with releasing it.

Several board members said some of the feedback they are getting from the community centers on student activities. Cuts in funding for "supplementals" means cutting stipends for teachers who are sponsors for those activities.

The pay-to-play activity fee could provide funding for those supplementals that are on the cutting block.

"That takes care of our stipend issue," said Hawbaker. "It provides for an answer."

Although an informal poll of the board by Finance Committee Chairman Dennis Sundo showed three members were willing to consider a tax increase to avoid deep cuts in the budget, six school board directors continued to say they favored no increase in taxes.

Directors Sundo, Kevin Nigh and Christine Misback said they would consider a tax increase.

Other members did not rule it out. But when it came time to direct Siford on what to present at Monday's school board meeting, the no-tax-increase philosophy prevailed.

A number of members of the community spoke at the meeting.

Brian McWilliams, sophomore class president, asked the board not to cut the student activities coordinator's position held by Marty Trombetta. 

Richland Township resident Wendy Compernolle said she was disappointed in the night's discussion because little was said about the district's K-6 schools.

She noted that the student-teacher ratio at Eden Hall Upper Elementary has increased and no field trips are planned for next year. 

Compernolle questioned the amount of staffing for the school that serves more than  1,000 students in grades four through six.

Randy Hyde noted that 34 percent of the district's students are in the band, choir and strings programs.

Under the proposed budget, there would be no evening concerts because "supplementals" are cut that normally pay teachers to work those evening hours.

"What's the purpose of band if all we do is practice and not play?" Hyde said his daughter asked him.