FRISCO (WBAP/KLIF News) — The Frisco Independent School District has approved a budget for the 2017-2018 school year that implements a fee for students wanting to participate in athletics.
It will cost $100 per student for middle school students and $200 for high school students. But the district says even though the fee is mandatory, it is not a “pay to play” system and is not meant to exclude anybody.
“Our coaches and our teachers will be able to work with those kids who may be in need of some financial assistance,” said district Chief Financial Officer Kimberly Pickens. “There will be fee waivers and things like that that apply on a case-by-case basis.”
The operations fee is set to cover things like laundry, transportation, security, and game officials. It’s one of 59 approved recommendations to the district’s budget, which includes cuts to fine arts spending and reduction in staff like library aides and technology specialists, but a two percent raise for teachers and staff across the district.
In total, the new budget is set at $473 million.
“Our fine arts students have been paying this type of fee up front for years now,” Pickens said of the new operations fee. “We’re just moving that over to the athletics side.”