Schools

B-W School Board Ponders Free Admission to Sports Events for Students

Decision will be made on Oct. 12.

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The Baldwin-Whitehall School Board cannot decide if Baldwin-Whitehall students should have to pay to attend sports events in the district. Of all of the items discussed during the board’s agenda meeting on Wednesday night, this one in particular generated the most uncertainty:

“RESOLVED, that the fees for all athletic events be waived for students in the .” 

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According to board member John B. Schmotzer, the district currently brings in approximately $15,000 each school year by selling tickets to students for such events, and not having that money any longer would be a concern to him. 

“I don’t know where we’re going to make that up,” John Schmotzer said, “especially, down the road, if the fiscal situation of this school district gets worse, we may even have to charge to play sports … 

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“And, on top of that, why should the taxpayers pay this? The taxpayers … provide us an education; they don’t provide free admission to sporting events.”

However, fellow board member Martin Michael Schmotzer argued that the opportunity to increase school spirit through increased attendance at sports events would be worth not having the estimated $15,000.

“It’s penny wise, dollar foolish,” Martin Schmotzer said. “We want pride. We want participation. We want enthusiasm at all games … 

“I think, for $15,000, to open it up for all the children to all the sporting events at all times is absolutely the right and moral thing to do.”

While many other board members agreed that it would be ideal not to charge admission for students at sports events, some of those same board members also argued that the funding for those events comes partly through charging attendance and that that reason is enough to vote the motion down.

“I think the intent (of the motion) was nice,” John Schmotzer said, “but I don’t think it makes good fiscal sense.” 

Martin Schmotzer argued that the district often spends more money to collect admissions costs at certain events than it actually gets in return, citing less-attended sports contests like lacrosse and soccer games as they compare to more-popular football and basketball games.

Fellow board member Kevin J. Fischer suggested only charging for football and basketball games to solve that problem. Fischer also suggested only charging families once per school year to buy a group pass for all sports events.

“There’s the point of revenue; there’s the point of attendance,” Fischer said. “I think maybe we can find a happy medium to that.”

Board President George L. Pry said that district employees and even board members should have to pay to attend sports events. By doing so, some of the revenue lost by allowing students to attend for free would be recouped.

“How can anybody, in good conscience,” Martin Schmotzer asked earlier, “charge a third-grader to get into a football game, but an $80,000 (salary-per-year) teacher walks in for free?”

Board member Laurencine Romack warned that allowing students to attend sports events for free would cause people to ask for that same policy at arts events, such as theater performances, which rely largely on ticket sales to fund things like plays and musicals.

Martin Schmotzer said that he will not amend the free-admission-for-students item, which is his motion, before it gets voted on by the board at its next meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 12.

Pry summed up the uncertainty surrounding the Oct. 12 vote perfectly.

“I don’t know where I’m at (in regard to this vote),” Pry said. “I probably won’t know where I’m at until five minutes before the vote next week.

“I think it’s a good motion. It’s making me think.”

Where are you at? Yay or nay? Tell us why in the comments section below.

And check back with the Baldwin-Whitehall Patch later on Thursday for more odds and ends from Wednesday night’s school board meeting.


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