I'm usually not the first person to throw my hands up in response to extracurricular programming being cut from schools. If something's got to go in this economic climate, better to be athletics and arts than social studies testing or early college academy high schools.??
Still, it's disconcerting that Ohio schools districts like Reynoldsburg have no junior varsity sports programs left, in part because families can't afford the required $500 athletic fees. And South-Western schools-who have already lost athletic and extracurricular programs- are in the news again as they hinge their hopes on the upcoming November levy. Even if it passes, athletes will still have to pay $150 per sport and there are no waivers for low-income students. For Big Walnut schools, pay-to-play fees could rise to as high as $300 if voters don't pass the upcoming levy.
Why care about cuts to sports programs? I admit that as a lifelong soccer player, I lack neutrality. But more important than my bias is the fact that many student athletes spend years getting good at their sport because it provides a pathway to college. College access can broaden exponentially for student athletes, particularly those whose families don't have savings or the willingness to take on exorbitant amounts of student loan debt.
For some Reynoldsburg students, nearly 30 percent of whom are economically disadvantaged, I'd guess that a $500 fee not only threatens their eligibility for a sports season, but potentially blocks their pathway to the college of their choice.
One idea to mitigate these cuts comes from Arizona, where individuals can claim a tax credit for donations to public schools for athletics, arts, and other extracurricular programs. Such a program in Ohio could at least reduce a family's tax liability when paying painful costs. Admittedly, other equity issues may arise -- e.g. what happens when the poorest families can't afford to donate and their children are disproportionately cut off from activities? - but the experience of other states suggests that various tax credit programs can coexist so that the most disadvantaged students are targeted beneficiaries of some donations.??
Athletes represent only a small fraction of students adversely affected by budget cuts. But a tax credit program that would raise private dollars for extracurricular programs could help some Ohio students forge a pathway to college, who otherwise might not be able to afford it.
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