Scituate High School is very fortunate to have the opportunity for every student to be part of a sport or activity that they love. Joining a team or a club is always exciting, and it’s an opportunity to be a part of a team and make new friends. Clubs and sports also look great on a college application. It all sounds perfect, but being a part of a club or team at any school comes at a price.

The activity fee, especially this year, has had a lot of people talking. Being part of a team at any school can be expensive- participating in a sport or activity comes at a price of $300. The activity fee stands at $300 per student, per sport. There is also a fee for other after school activities such as student council.  Also, for sports such as ski team, the $300 fee is just the start of multiple fees that are added on throughout the season. And don’t forget the students who do multiple sports throughout the school year- they find themselves paying somewhere between $600 and $900 per year. However the cost of the fee has not been the problem lately, it’s where the money is going.

Students who participate in a sport find themselves paying fee after fee with usually no explanation of where their money is going. Junior and Varsity basketball player Morgan Moore said, “As players we are told that the money is going towards buses, but one bus ride a week does not add up to $300 per person. Other things like our uniforms are paid by the boosters, so it seems like the money from the fee just disappears and we don’t know where it goes. For a student like me paying $900 a year in fees for four years, I’d like to know where that money is going.” The activity fee seems to be doing a vanishing act, but that isn’t the only controversy with the activity fee this year.

Another major problem with the fee is that students have just flat out stopped paying it. Some are fed up with the price of the fee, and feel as if they should not have to pay it. Especially for activities like student council where there are no uniforms or buses to pay for,, students find themselves questioning where there money would be going, and decide it is pointless.  In some cases, of course, the student is unable to pay the fee, but in many cases, students do not pay the fees because they “forget” or feel as if they shouldn’t have to. In some situations, students have been threatened to be kicked off their team because they have not payed the fee.  In past years, some clubs and activities have let this slide. However it seems that this year, the school is becoming more serious about the charge. Regardless, this does not change the fact that students are paying less and less attention to the fee each year.  And, paying less attention to the fee means paying less money to the school.

Many students feel that they should not have to pay the fee. For example, some students on Student Council have not paid the required fee simply because they feel they do not do anything that requires money. A fee makes sense for a sport, with the uniforms, buses, and coaches that need to be paid for, but with an activity, students find this less understandable. Many students find themselves questioning where all of this money goes. Let’s say a team consists of 30 students, each one pays 300 dollars. That’s already $9,000. Students, especially this year, are questioning where the money is going and whether or not it is being put to good use. This could be the reason why so many are not paying the activity fee. Refusing to pay the fee in response to this could result in major issues in the near future.