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Central Public School District board backs new activity fees, recommends $250 family pass
Summary
The Central Public School District board discussed and advanced recommendations to adjust admission and activity pass prices for 2024-25, including a $2.50 family pass (recommended $250), $7 adult admission and $5 student/senior admission; the board approved the organizational document that includes the fee changes for implementation.
The Central Public School District board on July 22 approved changes to the district's activity and admission price recommendations and directed staff to implement them for 2024-25.
Superintendent Schachar presented the recommended fee schedule, saying the district aims to align with neighboring districts and improve the portion of activity costs covered by fees. "Last year our revenues accounted for about 18.63% of the cost," Schachar said. "This year they accounted for 24.53% — we increased our percentage covered by roughly 7 percentage points." Schachar told the board that donations and ticket revenues rose year over year and that some donor furniture and vendor gifts supported the field house and facility openings.
The board reviewed specific proposals: adult general admission at $7, student and senior admission at $5, a K-6 student season pass at $50, elimination of the single-activity pass, and a recommended family pass of $250. Schachar noted 18 families had previously reached the family max, costing the district $6,325 in foregone registration revenue. "We sold only 39 activity passes last year," Schachar added, arguing that a lower family pass price could increase participation and improve gate flow.
Board members raised equity and practicality questions. One member urged a family cap (for example, limiting a family pass to two adults and two children) to prevent outsized discounts for very large households; another said keeping no cap felt preferable because many high-school students already attend free under existing policies. The board discussed whether to treat co-op sports differently; Schachar explained that co-op host districts bill the district for participation and that Central would charge its students the Central price while paying the coop invoice difference as part of participation costs.
The board directed staff to move forward with the recommended changes so registrations can open on schedule and agreed to revisit details at the next meeting if needed. The approved organizational meeting materials and fee schedule (as discussed) will appear on the August agenda for final technical adjustments.
What happens next: staff will publish the updated fee schedule and ticketing options on the district website and begin opening fall activity registrations; the board will receive a follow-up report next month with final numbers and any recommended caps or adjustments.
