Saugus seeks to hike school sports user fees by $100

The Saugus Schools Athletic Sub-Committee voted Thursday to recommend increasing athletic user fees from $250 to $350, along with making other cuts to the athletic budget.Parents at the meeting told subcommittee members they were unhappy that they will be paying $100 more this year.?Those average income kids ? that $350 ? puts it that far out of reach for them,” said Sue Bossi, who has twin girls in the eighth grade and a son in the fifth grade. “That makes my kid, or some of these kids, that kid that?s left behind because college is no longer an option, because that?s their foot in the door.”Town Meeting voted last year to appropriate $60,000 to an athletic fee stabilization fund, which allowed the School Committee to reduce fees during the 2010-11 school year from $350 to $250.However, that was a one-time appropriation that ended this year.Terry McCarthy said she, along with many parents in attendance, supported the one-time tax assessment from last month that was initially proposed to pay for snow and ice cost overruns, but, she said, the addition of a water rate hike and now a user fee increase was just too much.?They all said, ?You know what, you came up short, we?ll come up with the money?? and we did,” said McCarthy. “But now you?re saying, ?OK now we?re still short ? ,”?I have two kids in the high school,” added McCarthy. “Now I?m going to get socked hundreds and hundreds of dollars more and I don?t think anybody sitting at the table understands that. A lot of people just don?t have it.”High School principal Joe Diorio and Athletic Director Michael Nelson, however, saw some room in the high school athletic budget that would free up an additional $31,000.That included suspending boys and girls cross country and indoor track for $8,000, cutting $15,000 from the supplies and uniforms budget and charging students in the free and reduced lunch program, who currently pay no fee, a small rate. This would generate another $8,000.?If we go back to bare bones, which we can ? we can try to cut our equipment fund in half which could save us $25,000,” said Diorio. “But I don?t want to hear from parents saying, ?How come we didn?t have a scrimmage in Belmont like we normally do?? ?How come we?re wearing old uniforms?? When we?re in dire straits I?m looking to field a team, but we?re not going to be flashy. We?re going to go out there and do our thing.”All the recommendations must still be brought before the School Committee for a final vote. The School Committee will meet next Thursday, July 21 at 7 p.m.