Big Walnut Local Schools scrap pay-to-participate fees for students

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Families across central Ohio are used to paying for their kids to participate in school sports or extracurricular activities, and these fees can be a burden.

Recently, the Big Walnut Local Schools Board of Education voted to eliminate all pay-to-participate fees.

Before this, Big Walnut parents were paying $175 per student per sport at the high school.

With no action yet from the Ohio Statehouse on property tax relief, Superintendent Ryan McLane said this was a way to help families.

“We had freed up some money to spend on whatever it was we were going to spend on, and we decided to invest it in our kids and our family,” said McLane. “So it's going to be about $400,000 that we're no longer collecting.”

McLane said the district is also getting rid of some general student fees that have cost $50 to $100 a student.

McLane said athletics, band, choir, and other activities are important, and this eliminates financial stress for Big Walnut families.

“The transportation, getting them to and from, and all of their other equipment on top of that, as well as the pay-to-play fees. So yeah, sports are already expensive, but the pay-to-play fees are an added cost,” said Big Walnut parent Darrin Reeb, who has two kids involved in sports.

Another central Ohio district getting some relief is Marysville Schools.

Before their levy passed in May, parents were paying over $500 per student per sport last winter and spring, with no cap for families.

“It definitely made people think, you know, how much do you really enjoy this activity?” said Leigh Ann Shepherd, a Marysville mom of three daughters.

With the revenue now coming into the district from the levy, Marysville was able to lower costs down to $200 per sport with a family cap of $600.

Shepherd said it’s a huge relief for her family.

“It feels amazing,” said Shepherd. “That big jump with no cap really made a lot of people have to think twice about what they were going to be able to do.”

NBC4 reached out to Marysville Schools for a comment and did not hear back, but district leaders have said in the past that the previous higher pay-to-play fees put a financial burden on families. They have said the passage of the levy is providing a lot of solutions.

At Big Walnut, the superintendent said the elimination of pay-to-participate fees took effect immediately, so families do not have to pay for any athletics or activities for the 2025-2026 school year.

McLane said he hopes the district can provide this financial relief for years to come.