A local school district's plan to raise money is to make students who want to play sports, pay for it.
Parents in the Derry Area School District are upset about having to fork over more money for their childrens' activities.
This upcoming school year, Derry will join the likes of Ligonier and Hempfield and students will have to pay to play.
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Sidney McCune has a child who plays both baseball and basketball.
He's not quite in middle school yet, but if he continues in athletics, he'll have to pay to play.
"I understand why they're doing it, to offset costs, but there are parents out there who can't afford it, and I think about those folks and how they're going to handle it,” McCune said.
It'll be $75 for high school students and $50 for middle school students to participate in sports or marching band.
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For students participating in the free or reduced lunch program, the fee would be waived. The superintendent says that's about 55 percent of the district's students.
It costs the district approximately $400,000 to fund athletics, and "gate fees" only cover 10 percent of that.
With a pay to play program, the district hopes to generate about $17,000.
The district says the program has become a fiscal reality because it's getting less money from the state, making it harder to balance budgets.
The district says the continual increase in transportation, pension, special education and cyberschool tuition costs are forcing schools to come up with alternatives.
The superintendent also told Channel 11 this is not the district's philosophy, and they don't want to prevent children from playing, so they'll work with parents and come up with alternatives to make sure all students can be involved.