Students at Kathleen MacDonald High School are required to pay a $5 fee to enter home football games, a policy that supports school funding. However, students are wondering if it should be required to charge MacDonald students to attend their own football games.
The reason why home football games have fees to watch is that the school needs funding, and a portion of athletic costs relies on ticket sales of sports games. Although the admission fee is $5 for students, it’s $10 for other guests.
A Senior varsity football athlete, Brandon Medina Mejia, said, “They should pay to enter football games, because it benefits the school. The fee provides a better environment for other people, and it provides good quality things.”
Medina also notices that fewer students are in the stands during JV games because of the fee. However, more people tend to watch varsity games because they’re more exciting. “Some are busy and don’t have time, but I feel like more people would come if there wasn’t a fee,” said Medina.
Carmella Ortiz, a Senior at MacDonald High School, has consistently attended the school’s football games and shares her thoughts on student fees.
She said, “I can see how the fees can be necessary for funding, but students still shouldn’t have to pay to get in, especially if it’s for their own school football games.”
When asked about alternative ways students can pay, Ortiz said, “Most students do end up buying snacks and drinks as well, so the money for funding can be from that instead of having to pay a fee.” However, snack and drink fees are optional to pay for, meaning the school won’t get its funding as much as paying to enter the game.
She said that there could be more students attending if there weren’t a fee. “I do think there would be more people in the stands if there wasn’t a fee for sure. I just think the main reason the games aren’t as crowded as they could be is because the fee feels unnecessary to people,” said Ortiz.
Overall, there seems to be a division between those who believe the fee is necessary and those who don’t think it’s worth it. There could be a different way for students to pay that could support athletic funding, such as snacks or drinks, instead of paying to enter the game.
