Getty Images photo of high school athletes.
Youth sports have been in the spotlight recently, with even U.S. Senators talking about the high costs and the strain they put on families. While much of the conversation has focused on expensive travel teams and club sports, a growing financial barrier to participation exists within public schools.
High school students who want to represent their school are increasingly required to pay to play, with multiple Ohio districts charging fees that reach $500 for each sport a student pursues. According to the Ohio High School Athletic Association, the majority of high schools in Ohio now impose sports participation fees.
More schools are charging higher fees as districts grapple with inadequate state funding and rising costs.
Ohio’s approach to athletic participation fees is essentially the Wild West. There are no applicable state laws or limits on what school districts can charge student athletes and their families. While some districts offer fee waivers, there are no requirements that schools consider a family’s income or their ability to pay.
In the span of a few miles there is a staggering difference in costs and opportunity.
Columbus City Schools, the largest district in the state, does not charge a pay to play fee. But neighboring district Pickerington charges students $345 if they want to represent their community on the playing field.
Next door in Reynoldsburg, students and families are on the hook for a $500 fee per child, per season in order to participate in school sports.
Despite Ohio’s long standing embrace of high school sports, there is no cap across the state on what a large, athletic family might be required to pay.
Affirming a commitment to scholastic sports, state Rep. Gary Click has said that “No student athlete should be limited by their zip code.” But the reality is your zip code and the size of your wallet determine if you can play high school sports in Ohio.
For families in the Reynoldsburg school district, Click’s lofty words are overshadowed by a harsh reality. The $500 fee puts sports out of reach for many students. The district’s only publicized assistance is a payment plan; parents can pay the fee in two installments of $250. This in a school where the state labels more than 65% of the students economically disadvantaged.
Ohio is putting fees in the way of educational opportunity. Research studies have found students who participate in high school sports get better grades, are more likely to graduate high school and more likely to pursue education after high school.
Parents recognize the benefits sports provide. In a recent nationwide survey, 84% of parents in the U.S. agreed that participation in sports positively affects students’ performance in school.
Not only do parents see sports as beneficial, but so do the very school officials raising the cost to play. The entire school board in Mentor signed onto a statement declaring access to extracurriculars including athletics “another necessary component to producing well-rounded, successful young people, who are prepared for life after graduation.” Necessary or not, the Mentor school board raised their sports participation fee by 20% this year.
The survey of parents shows their support for their children participating in high school sports is nearly unanimous when there is no fee. When fees reach the levels charged by Reynoldsburg, however, most parents say they would discourage their children from pursuing a sport.
In fact, only in households making over $100,000 per year was there still a majority willing to encourage sports participation. Notable too, 87% of all parents said school-sponsored athletics should be funded through a district’s general budget rather than through imposing participation fees.
Ohio has a law requiring financial literacy be taught to every high school student, and a new law requires teaching something called the “success steps.” It is long past time for Ohio lawmakers to recognize that the financially sound path to student success is to fund scholastic athletics and put an end to pay to play.
Katie Niven is a Benton Scholar and Division 1 student athlete (softball) at Colgate University and is a 2025 graduate of Thomas Worthington High School.
Leave a Comment