Published in the February 16, 2017 edition.
Folding school activity user fees into the town’s regular budget rather than having parents pay separately for their kids participating in sports and clubs makes sense to us.
On Tuesday, the School Committee batted the issue around and the consensus was to either reduce or eliminate user fees in the future.
Why not start now? The town has about $20 million in reserves, most of it of the usable variety. Recently there has been a great deal of self-congratulating about how well Wakefield is run and how much money it has, so let’s begin putting cash where our mouths are and take some of the burden off parents who want their kids to play sports, be in the band or hone their skills on the stage.
Based on the comments at their meeting, School Committee members are unanimous in their view that extracurricular activities like athletic and the performing arts are integral to the educational experience and as such should be funded by the community at a higher level than they are now.
The current discussion has roots in last year’s School Committee decision in the spring to approve a small increase in user fees. Questions were raised at the time as to why it had not been a part of last year’s budget discussion. That led to a commitment by the School Committee to have a full airing of the issue of user fees as part of this year’s budget process.
Chairman of the Finance and Facilities Subcommittee Thomas Markham attempted to frame the discussion as a philosophical one. At the center of that philosophical discussion, in Markham’s view, was the question of what is the taxpayers’ responsibility if the School Committee were to reduce or eliminate user fees for activities that are outside of classroom learning.
“Cutting fees either eliminates services or puts the cost somewhere else,” Markham observed.
School Committee member Rob Tiro said that to him a true educational experience is not complete without extracurricular activities and athletics.
“For me, taxpayer responsibility includes, to a degree that is manageable, certain extracurricular activities,” Tiro said.
School Committee member RJ Masse agreed that a well-rounded education includes extracurricular activities.
Noting that the School Administration estimates the cost of running the current fee-based activities at between $360,000 and $400,000, Masse said that dividing that by the population of Wakefield would put the cost at $16 per person annually. He called it “a worthy investment.”
School Committee member Anne Danehy said that athletics and the performing arts are “part of our obligation to educate the whole child.” She added that she was committed to the idea that education includes the ability to participate in athletics and the performing arts.
She said she was in favor of reducing user fees in those areas.
Chairman Greg Liakos said that he agreed with the philosophical underpinnings of a vision that educating the whole child goes beyond the four walls of the classroom.
He said that he would look to the Finance and Facilities Subcommittee to frame the question of how to reconcile that philosophy with the $360,000 to $400,000 cost of eliminating user fees.
School Superintendent Kim Smith said that she concurred with the sentiments that excellence in education includes whole child development, which in turn includes extracurricular activities. She recalled that her days as a drum major in high school were great preparation for becoming a leader.
“We need to budget what we value,” Smith said.
And we agree. It’s time to absorb the $275 per kid per extracurricular activity (hockey is $525 per player) into the municipal budget.
