HUBER HEIGHTS — One of our school districts scrapped a plan that would have made students pay more to play sports.
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The plan to save the district money would have also included cuts to staff.
As soon as Monday night’s school board meeting started, the board made a motion to rescind the cost-saving plan.
“Sports help people. It helps the kids be grounded. It helps them with their mental health,” Dashawn Fears, a track athlete at Wayne High School, said. “It’s their natural healing.”
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Fears and several of his teammates spoke about how the current pay-to-play cost is already a lot for their families to afford.
The cost for a student to play a sport in the district is $150 per sport with a $500 family cap.
The proposed 2026-2027 cost-saving plan that was rescinded would have jumped that price up to $750 per sport with no family cap.
“There are a lot of great athletes here at Wayne, but you don’t really know what’s going on in their lives or what’s their background story,” Alex Moncrief, track athlete, said.
Athletes are worried they would have to give up their passion because their parents can’t afford to support it.
“I feel like running saved my life. Coming to high school, I didn’t know what I wanted to do at all. My grades were shaky, acting up in school until I found running,” Fears said.
Voters last approved an operating levy in Huber Heights City Schools in 2005.
The district said its current financial forecast projects it will be operating at a $9 million deficit by 2027.
The board could come up with another plan to save money or hand the issue over to voters.
We will continue to follow this story.
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