Central Oregon families can expect that “pay-to-play” fees for high school athletics are here to stay. But area school districts have continued to work on providing affordable options so that every area student can participate in sports.

Pay-to-play fees have become a part of doing business for high school athletics in the region, but all five Central Oregon school districts — Bend-La Pine, Redmond, Jefferson County, Sisters and Crook County — have very different fees and financial assistance programs.

Sisters High School, like all Central Oregon high schools, has pay-to-play fees — $150 per sport, with a $400 cap per student-athlete or an $800 family cap. But Sisters has come up with a creative and effective way to get around pay-to-play fees for students in need by offering scholarships instead of a fee waiver.

Athletic director Tim Roth says that Sisters helps to offset pay-to-play fees with sponsorships from area businesses like Les Schwab, Bank of the Cascades, GFT Emergency and Big Foot Beverages, along with individual sponsors who pick up the cost for families in need. Sisters School District also works with the Sisters Park and Recreation District to apply for grants.

Roth says that Sisters High School wanted to get away from having teams compete with each other to try and get big sponsors. So donors give money to the athletic department as a whole, but can also allocate up to 25 percent of their donation to a specific team. The team a business sponsors volunteers three hours of service to that company.

“We make sure that any kid who wants to play is able to,” Roth says. “…But we need to find the dollars to fund the programs.”

Redmond and Ridgeview high schools’ pay-to-play fees were modified last year. The cost for athletics requiring officials is $150 per sport, and the price for sports without officials (cross-country, tennis and golf) is $100. According to Nathan Stanley, Redmond High’s athletic director, there is a two-sport cap, so any additional sport is free. There is also a $600 cap for families with multiple student athletes.

“The district provides the cost for transportation and stipends for coaches,” Stanley explained. “And the school has to take care of the rest of the costs.”

Students who are enrolled in the free or reduced lunch program at their respective Redmond high schools also qualify for a reduced athletic fee. Stanley said that students who receive reduced priced lunches pay 50 percent of the pay-to-play fee, and students who get free lunches pay a $25 flat fee.

While Redmond schools changed their pay-to-play program last year, Madras High School’s athletic director, Rory Oster, said that the fee has been $65 since its introduction at the school more than a decade ago. But the money that is made from the fees does little to bolster the Jefferson County School District’s budget.

“Unlike most schools (in Central Oregon) we don’t raise a lot of money with pay-to-play,” Oster said. “It’s not a huge part of our budget.”

Madras waives the pay-to-play fee for any student who is a part of the free or reduced lunch program. Oster says that potentially 80 percent of the school qualifies for the fee waiver.

“It’s a way for our students who may not be able to pay the fee to still participate in athletics,” Oster says.

In response to budget cuts, Crook County School District has increased its pay-to-play fee from $175 to $200 per student with no family caps. However, fee waivers are offered to students in need.

Rob Bonner, athletic director at Crook County High School, says coaches and teams have to fundraise in order to make ends meet for their high school athletic programs. The additional pay-to-play funds go to the district, which in turn fund athletics.

“With the increase, there will be funding for the head coach,” Bonner says, “who used to have to fundraise for their own salaries.”

Although Crook County had to raise its pay-to-play fee, Bend-La Pine School District has maintained the same cost for several years. The district charges $100 per student with a $300 family cap. According to Mountain View High School’s athletic director, Dave Hood, the family cap also includes fees for middle school athletics.

Hood attributes the low fees to the efforts from the school district and the fundraisers and donations through the Education Foundation for Bend-La Pine Schools.

Scholarships are offered to students who receive free or reduced lunches. The Education Foundation has donated thousands of dollars to offset pay-to-play fees.

“Our school board has done an unbelievable job in making athletics a priority,” Hood says. “Bend-La Pine and the Education Foundation really are incredible.”

According to Stanley, the ideal situation is that extracurricular programs would be free for all students, but the athletic budgets of each school district demand extra funds to maintain the program.

“Even though I wish we didn’t have pay-to-play fees, it’s still a good deal for what you get,” Stanley says. “If you played traveling volleyball it would be way more expensive … it’s worth it.”

PAY-TO-Play

Bend-La Pine School District: $100 per student with a $300 family cap.

Redmond School District: $150 for officiated sports or $100 for non-officiated with a $600 family cap.

Sisters School District: $150 per student with a $400 student cap or $800 family cap.

Crook County School District: $200 per student.

Jefferson County School District: $65 per student.