Athletics Fees

School District 49 is adopted a new strategy for athletic fees for the school year several years ago. In a team effort between the D49 Business Office, Education Office, and the district’s Athletic Directors, we took a close look at how we inform our families of the overall costs to participate in a D49-sponsored sport. Traditionally, the overall cost of a sports season included the published baseline fee, plus what was, in effect, some unpublished out-of-pocket costs that parents paid throughout the season. Based on discussions with our AD’s, the business and education offices, along with the results of a community survey, District 49 will combine the baseline fee with the projected former out-of-pocket (trailing cost) amounts, into a single, up-front, bundled price.

There are many advantages to this model:

• The intent consolidates costs into a single fee, with no trailing costs, while inviting parents to hold the district accountable to that promise.
  
  
• There is an added convenience, as parents will not have to go back to their wallets periodically throughout the season to cover additional, unpublished expenses.
  
  
• Families will have the option of paying over the course of the season to mimic the timing benefits of the previous ‘baseline plus trailing cost’ model.
  
  
• District 49 will set a maximum cap on athletics fees per school year of $475 for an individual athlete, or $775 for a family with multiple athletes. **Cap does not apply to cheer teams**
  
  
• Coaches and AD’s can still approve team-wide fundraisers to work toward larger team goals, supplement the baseline budget or request additional funding from the school/program booster club, but fundraising to pay for individual participation will not occur.
  
  
• Bundling athletic fees, to include both the baseline and out-of-pocket costs, will better aid families who qualify for financial assistance by allowing the district to waive or reduce the full bundled cost, rather than just the baseline fee as was the prior practice.

Full Refund
- Drop a fee based class within 2 weeks of semester start
- Leave an athletic program before the first scheduled competition