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Madison officials discuss phasing out pay-to-participate fees for school sports
Summary
District athletic director presented options to reduce or eliminate per-season participation fees to remove financial barriers; administration agreed to study budget impacts for future budget cycles.
Chris Farrell, the Madison School District athletic director, reviewed the district’s pay-to-participate model and asked the Board of Education to consider phasing out or eliminating per-season fees to preserve access to educational athletics.
Farrell told the board the current model—$125 per season at Daniel Hand and $90 at Polson with a $600 family cap—was created years ago to help cover transportation, officials and event staff. He said the system now creates financial barriers for some families and that the district is typically short roughly $40,000 each year after fee collections and online payment fees.
Superintendent Dr. Cook said he supported exploring removal or a phased reduction of the fees to reflect the district’s goals for equitable access, while cautioning that the fee revenue does not fully cover rising costs for buses, officials and event staffing. He estimated a full elimination of fees would require roughly $175,000 in recurring district funding to replace the revenue, or a phased increase to the athletic budget over several years.
Board members raised operational and equity questions: how increased participation would affect uniforms, equipment and bus loads; which high-cost sports (hockey and skiing) might still require supplemental family contributions; and how many students use hardship waivers. Farrell told the board about confidential hardship waivers and estimated roughly 46–50 student athletes received waivers this year, which reduces fee receipts and contributes to the cited shortfall.
Members asked for a detailed cost analysis. Farrell said his office could provide three-year transportation and event-cost data and a scenario showing the financial impact of eliminating fees versus phasing funding in over multiple years. Dr. Cook and Farrell said the administration will include options and cost estimates in the next budget process for board consideration.
Direction: The board did not take a formal vote; members signaled general support and requested the administration produce a budget-level proposal and multi-year cost scenarios for the next budget cycle.
