Thanks to Deal, Solon Avoids Pay-to-Play Sports

Solon athletic director Mark McGuire is one of the lucky ones -- not only does he oversee one of the state's top programs, he has also avoided the dreaded pay-to-play scenario that has found its way into many high schools throughout Northeast Ohio.

A recent across-the-board agreement that freezes pay raises for Solon teachers and  those holding supplemental contracts has kept Comet athletes out of the pay-to-play controversy. Solon is one of just four of the 18 Northeast Ohio Conference schools without a pay-to-participate requirement ranging from $50 to $660 per sport.

That $660 figure is for sports at Medina, a school recently featured in a Wall Street Journal article on the pay-to-play requirement that has become a nationwide occurence. The cost for freshman sports at Medina is $420 and there is a $250 fee for middle school participants. In sports such as swimming and track and field, turnouts are down 50 percent at the school.

"We are in good shape," said McGuire. "We have some outstanding programs that are putting people in the bleachers. But every athletic director knows it (pay-to-play) is out there and it is in the back of our minds."

"I have been lucky not to have been involved with it," said McGuire. "For some of the athleic directors I know it has become a challenge. It's also a challenge for the kids and the parents."

Solon also benefits from an involved booster program. "Our boosters do all of the fund-raising for our programs," said McGuire. "They are very active and do a couple of events that raise a good sum of money."

Pay-to-play programs have become a necessary evil for many school districts. They do serve to keep athletics in place and parents who do not have children involved in sports do not have to pay for those who do. The drawbacks include parents who seek guaranteed playing time for their children, lesser-skilled athletes competing and low-income families who are penalized by the requirements. Pay-to-play also creates additional workloads for the collection and enforcement of the fees.

"I believe kids who are really involved in sports will find ways to play," said McGuire. "High school sports is an integral part of their youth. But a lot of places aren't as fortunate to have the facilities and opportunities that we have here in Solon."

The increase in teacher/coaching salaries, transportation costs and equipment costs have all combined to strain budgets. A football helmet that cost $65 some 20 years ago now costs $250 and they are purchased on a yearly basis. And then there is the cost for football game officials, an outlay of $300 per each home game.

The football program carries the highest price tag but also generates the most money each season, particularly for the Comets, who have been a perennial playoff contender for years.

New Solon varsity basketball coach Bob Patton is an example of the current state of economics in Ohio public schools. Patton took the post despite the fact that it did not come with a teaching job as none were available. He will coach the Comets while continuing to teach at Westlake.

With a successful athletic program, some of the finest facilities in Northeast Ohio and an award-winning school district, Solon is fortunate in an era when school budgets are being slashed from coast to coast.

In that respect, Comet teams are winners before they even take the field.