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Finance subcommittee weighs athletics fee changes to raise $20,000–$25,000 for FY27
Summary
The Newburyport School Committee Finance Sub-Committee reviewed cost-per-sport data and discussed re-tiering fees, raising existing tiers, and adding a modest middle school fee; staff is relying on $20,000–$25,000 in additional athletics revenue to help balance the FY27 budget.
The Newburyport School Committee Finance Sub-Committee reviewed cost-per-sport data on April 2 as part of an ongoing discussion about adjusting athletics fees to generate additional FY27 revenue. Committee members considered options including re-tiering sports, increasing fees in current tiers, and introducing a modest middle school fee.
Why it matters: Staff is currently relying on an additional $20,000–$25,000 from athletics fees to help balance the district’s FY27 budget. Adjustments to fee structure could affect families who pay per sport and could change program sustainability for lower-participation activities.
Committee discussion and details: The committee examined the range of approaches that could raise revenue without necessarily eliminating programs. Juliet Walker asked staff to provide updated information on the percentage of total program costs covered by current fees; the committee previously discussed benchmarking fees at 25% of total program cost. Walker also requested counts of competitive levels offered within each sport (for example, Freshman, JV, JV2, Varsity) to better understand per-sport cost structures.
Next steps: The subcommittee did not adopt fee changes at this meeting; staff will prepare the requested data and the committee will continue the athletics fee discussion at a future meeting. The Finance Sub-Committee’s next meeting is scheduled for April 16 at 8:30 AM in the Central Office.
