Extracurricular activities – should parents pay extra for them? – Poll

How much are you paying for your student to play a sport in school? What about the band or any other extracurricular activity? 

Assemblyman John Burzichelli thinks it’s outrageous for you to pay anything for extracurriculars for your child. “Public education has got to be equal and available to all,” he said. “We don’t offer public education in New Jersey with an a la carte menu. Why would you present a barrier and say to a parent by the way, you want your child to participate in that extracurricular activity, it’s another $300?"

I see the Assemblyman’s point that public education should be equal and available to all but the extracurricular activities are just that: EXTRA. Participating in an extracurricular activities is a choice, and if you choose it--like anything else--you have to pay. Besides, if the money’s not going to come from the parents, where do you think it will come from?

Burzichelli stated that New Jersey parents "are already paying the highest property taxes in the nation." And they'll pay even more if this were to happen. His suggestion to avoid higher taxes? He thinks administrations should cut administrators instead, but that's not fair either. Should someone else lose their job so your kid can play football?

First off, if there are jobs that could be eliminated in the school system, they should be eliminated regardless. Secondly, if schools want to take on the responsibility of paying these costs, there are many ways for them to generate money: what about fundraising, advertising, or sponsors? How many parents own businesses that could participate in an advertising campaign to raise money?

As a father of two 8-year-old boys who are already taking karate and drum lessons, I would love to be relieved of any extracurricular payments. Now that the conversation’s started, maybe the powers that be can figure out a way to solve the problem with out it costing us extra money anywhere else. As I said, our taxes are high enough.

What do you think? Do you think the Assemblyman is onto something or is his suggestion too costly? Take my poll below!