The fees for students and the family fee cap will be reduced to half of its current cost, said Lakota officials.
Junior high students will now pay $150 per student per activity and high school students will pay $200 per student per activity.
The new family cap is $400 for families with one student, $600 for two students, $800 for three students and $1,000 for four students.
The Butler County school system currently charges some of the highest pay-to-play fees in southwest Ohio.
A recent review of fees at other Greater Miami Conference schools showed that Lakota charged the most for both individual students and total family caps.
District savings via bond refinancing and reductions in health-care costs have allowed Lakota to absorb an anticipated $750,000 annual cost to its $152 million annual operating budget.
“We know the financial burden extracurricular fees introduce to our families and we are always pleased to redirect a portion of our savings in other areas to expanded student opportunities,” said Lakota Treasurer Jenni Logan.
Lakota Chief Operating Officer Chris Passarge said “rather than waiting until next school year, we wanted to expedite this change for a more immediate benefit to our students and families this year. We hope this change, and any additional changes to follow, will encourage more students to explore more activities.”
The extracurricular fees for students in grades 7-12 will be exactly half of the current amount, effective for students participating in the winter and spring sessions. Fees paid for the current 2016 fall season will be applied to the family cap for the 2016-2017 school year.
“The annual family cap will also be reduced by half, helping offset the cost difference for those students who participated in fall activities under the current rate,” Logan said.
The new fee schedule will include a sliding scale for economically disadvantaged students who qualify for free and reduced lunch.
Lakota West High School head football and track coach Larry Cox stated on the high school’s website that he hopes the reduced fees lead to more students signing up for activities.
“I applaud the leadership of our schools for taking an important step in giving our students a fair financial chance at participating in extracurricular activities which play such an important part in a student’s overall education,” Cox said. “I personally hope to see big increases in both football and track.”
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