Northville Athletics Not Hurt by Fee Increases

This story is the first in a three-part series about the effect of tight financial times on extracurricular activities in Northville Public Schools.

Like many school districts around the country, it’s going to cost a little more to play sports in the Northville Public School system this year.

It’s also going to cost a little more to watch some of those athletes in the field or on the court.

Facing a budget shortfall of more than $5 million for the 2011-2012 school year, the Northville Board of Education asked athletic director Bryan Masi to make some difficult choices and he did.

In an effort not to cut any sports from the current program, pay-to-participate fees for high school athletes were raised from $300 to $350 and middle-school fees were increased from $150 to $200. Families with multiple athletes will pay a maximum of $800 per school year.

“Our community does an outstanding job of picking up, in budget-crisis times, where they need to,” Masi said. “So far, it hasn’t been too bad. I think people knew there would be some added responsibilities to put toward extra-curricular activities so they were probably expecting it."

Masi added, “Not having to cut anything, I think, has been huge. I think people would rather see the increase in pay-to-participate rather than cut an opportunity. Maybe that’s why we haven’t heard too much complaining.”

Susan Baldwin, president of the Northville Athletic Booster Club, agrees with Masi’s assessment.

“Parents want their children to have the experience and benefits gained and learned by being part of a team,” she said. “And they’re willing to make the sacrifices to do that for their children.”

Another option Masi looked into was a lower increase in fees, but it would have meant eliminating the middle school football program. However, cutting middle school football and cheerleading will be discussed again next year.

In addition to the fee increases, there will be admission charges for all middle school basketball, swimming and volleyball competitions.

For Maureen Owen, this year will actually be a bit of a relief. With her two older children now in college, she is down to one high school athlete.

“This is the first year we get a break,” she said. “It’s kind of a sigh of relief. We were paying $750 at one point, we had reached the limit. When you look back, it’s hard. We never had to pay that. It’s a lot of money.

“I think people expect it now. But it’s amazing you have to pay that much for one sport.”

According to the Northville Public Schools athletic overview, 40 percent of the 2,226 students enrolled played sports in 2010-11. Student-athletes had a slightly higher grade-point average than their peers who didn’t play sports, 3.29 to 3.01.

Since 2001, the amount of money going to sports from the general fund has been cut in half, from $750,000 to $340,000. At the same time, the number of teams and coaches has been on the rise.

“Unfortunately, an increase in the pay-to-participate fee is the reality facing the athletic community with all of the budget cuts,” said , who coaches basketball at Northville High School. “We are fortunate to have resilient families in Northville that realize the educational benefits associated with participation in athletics, and they do their best to find ways to make it work.

He added, “To my knowledge, it has not yet had a negative impact on athletic participation.”