[contact-form][contact-field label=”Name” type=”name” required=”true” /][contact-field label=”Email” type=”email” required=”true” /][contact-field label=”Website” type=”url” /][contact-field label=”Message” type=”textarea” /][/contact-form]

The district has had to make tough decisions regarding how to deal with the dramatic money loss they faced after the levy failed in May. There was a $640,000 gap between how much money the school had to spend and how much they needed to spend. Inorder to make up for the money gap the school reduced positions and brought in Pay to Participate.

Pay to Participate is a bandaid to get through the tough money situation the school is going through. However, if the next levy, passes student athletes of Granville High School should not have to Pay to Participate for sports in the future.

The way families spend money has changed, money that was used to pay for equipment and new shoes to play sports is now being used to participate in the sports. For some families this is a financial burden, especially if they have more than one student playing sports. The cap per family is $750, but the amount is still a steep price for one family.

Pay to Participate turns students away from playing sports. Families of these student athletes do not want to pay for school sports. Granville is a public school so sports should be free. Then the money families are currently using to Pay to Participate in these sports would be put to a different use within these families.

Pay to Participate is bringing in money to pay for coaches salaries that the school cannot cover. The district realizes that this is a financial burden on families but they were in a tight spot.

If the next levy does not pass, there will be no immediate actions this 2018-19 school year. However, next school year more faculty positions could be reduced and the amount of money that families will have to Pay to Participate in sports will increase.

There is no guarantee that even if the upcoming levy does pass that Pay to Participate goes away next sports season. Although, voting yes on the levy will maintain the same scene here at Granville. The price of Pay to Participate will not rise and other positions will not be reduced.

Once the school starts to consistently bring in money in other ways, the the future student athletes of Granville should not have to Pay to Participate.