In a superintendent report sent to ELPS families on Aug 11, it was announced that fees for athletics will be reinstated for the 2025-2026 school year, which will cost athletes $75 per sport at ELHS and $50 per sport at MMS.
Pre-COVID, high school athletics cost families $275 per sport, with opportunities for scholarships available.
After COVID, athletic director Nicole Norris noticed low enrollment in the school’s athletic programs. Simultaneously, the district was given Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. These funds allowed ELPS to eliminate the cost of sports for the coming school years, making all athletic programs free to join.
“We wanted kids to get engaged again,” Norris said. “It was awful. We were trying to remove as many barriers to participation as we could.”
The district was also able to provide high school students with free admission to all home high school athletic events.
With these two programs being put into action before the 2022-2023 school year, the school’s ESSER funds have now been fully spent, as required by law. This spring, Norris and administration began discussions to devise a method to make up for this loss of extra income.
“Now we’re looking at some funding challenges,” Norris said. “We thought it would be good to bring [fees] back in altogether, but at a much reduced amount.”
While fees for sports have been reintroduced, admission to home high school events will still be free for all high school students.
“We love the impact that having a bunch of students at our games has had,” Norris said. “We really didn’t want to bring the [cost of tickets] back.”
To stay true to their commitment to accessibility, the district announced that the fees are highly recommended to be paid if families are able, but not required. This way, general athletic needs will still be covered while allowing as many athletes as possible to continue their sport.
In the report, it was said families could pay a smaller amount of the athletic fee, pay none at all or contribute more money to pay for other students in the school. To ensure confidentiality and privacy for families, those who take one of these alternate routes will not be reported back to Norris. Instead, records will be held within the district’s business department.
“Even if nobody finds out that we’re doing this, their student athletes are still going to be able to play,” Norris said. “There’s nothing that goes through my office right now that says you paid or you didn’t pay. I’m assuming that everybody’s good.”
To maintain fairness, Norris stresses that the fees are “pay to participate” — not “pay to play.” Athletes who pay the whole fee, or more, will not be prioritized for playing time over athletes who do not.
“It’s about participation and being in the event,” Norris said. “[Athlete] participation is practicing every day and working with their coaches.”
Fees for equipment, such as swimsuits or volleyball shorts, will still need to be covered by athletes. These fees should be similar to previous years, as long as prices of such items remain the same. If needed, scholarships to cover these costs can be provided.
When the 2025-2026 school year comes to a close, the district will look over reports of the year’s athletic funds and expenses to gauge whether or not fees will become mandatory once again. As of now, everyone is welcome to participate in the school’s athletic programs to whatever capacity they are able to contribute.
