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Want your child to play sports in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools?
Then get out your wallet.
Because of a budget crunch, parents will now have to PAY to have their child PLAY.
Fifty dollars per sport for every middle school student.
A hundred bucks per sport for every high school student.
We immediately see some red flags.
Lots of them, in fact.
But one that jumps out first is this - 50 percent of CMS students are economically disadvantaged.
The district's athletic director says CMS will raise money - scholarships - so those students who want to play, but can't pay, will still have the same opportunity.
To us, that just screams "problems-problems-problems."
We see problems.
What if not enough money is raised to help EVERY student?
Does money go towards just the BIG sports?
What if there's not enough money to help EVERY student?
Will the scholarships go towards just the BIG sports?
Or benefit just the great athletes?
What if there's a child who really could benefit from playing, say, soccer?
But all the money is being used to pay for the stars who couldn't afford the football fees?
How do you prevent some kids from being lost in the system and some calling "FOUL"?
We aren't opposed to Pay to Play.
We understand tough budget times call for creative ways to manage money.
But we hope the answers to these problems don't create more problems for the school district to tackle.
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