'Pay to play' is sign of the times

It's a nice tradition that Flathead High School has been able to uphold for many years: not charging students who join in extracurricular activities.

Thanks to consistent and laudable generosity from many sources - school boosters, businesses and private donors - Flathead has been able to avoid the "pay to play" scenario.

However, that tradition may be about to give way to reality.

With Glacier High School scheduled to open in fall 2007, the duplication of extracurricular programs will land big bills on the desks of school officials.

Well before then, there are equipment purchases that have to be made to start up programs at Glacier as well. All those uniforms with the Glacier Wolfpack logo - along with all the gear that comes with cranking up an entirely new high school - will have to be purchased.

That means "pay to play" may be coming to a high school near you.

Flathead and Butte are the only Class AA school districts that currently do not charge fees for students to participate in extracurricular activities. All the other districts charge anywhere from $20 to $40 per participant for each activity.

While it's regrettable that Flathead and Glacier may have to join the pay-to-play parade, it seems inevitable.

Flathead administrators are working on a pay-to-play plan that involves charging a $40 fee per activity (ranging from sports to music to speech), with subsequent activities to cost $30 and a family fee cap of $170. Also on the table are changes in what meals the school pays for on extracurricular trips. A vote by the school board on these changes is scheduled for March 14.

No one can be enthusiastic about the proposal, but "pay to play" does seem like the responsible way to address upcoming financial needs. After all, when we are vigorously debating how to find the money to fund education itself at every legislative session, then it becomes apparent that extracurricular activities more and more will need to be self-supporting.

And in many ways, "pay to play" isn't a new idea around here anyway.

From city or county recreational sports leagues to nonschool traveling teams to music lessons, parents already are paying for their children to play - and in many cases they're paying much more than the $40 fee being considered for the Kalispell high schools.

While we don't welcome the extra financial burden that comes with "pay to play," we recognize that it might not only be justified but also essential.