The bottom line: all revenues passed to the town from the school district's pay-to-play program offset interscholastic sports expenses in the district's budget.The Newtown Bee after the council meeting, some fees collected to underwrite student activities - generally referred to as "pay-to-play" fees - go into Newtown's General Fund under a Board of Education Activities account line as revenue.

This revelation was the outcome of discussions among Legislative Council representatives, Town Finance Director Robert Tait, and school officials who attended a February 17 council meeting, during which town and school officials also discussed the status of post 12/14 grants.

According to Mr Tait, who followed up with

For example, the 2016-17 school budget requests $884,139 for "interscholastic sports activities," Mr Tait said. So if that budget is eventually approved by taxpayers and goes into effect, the district will put $77,450 into the General Fund revenue account to help pay for these and other student activities.

The current budget proposal anticipates $189,473 to be collected from ticket sales and other fees. Once the $77,450 is allocated to the General Fund, the difference of $112,023 goes into a separate district student activity fund.

The balance of revenue up to the full amount for school activity costs is collected through taxation.

Mr Tait said that any additional fundraising that is done by teams and other entities like booster clubs also accrues back to the school district, and is represented in another account that he cannot directly access. He said, however, that fundraising revenue is accounted for in the district budget and audited.

During the council meeting, school district Business Manager Ron Bienkowski said that the lower the revenue posted from ticket sales, the more taxpayers are tapped to make up the difference. And while winning teams and winning seasons generate more ticket revenues, Mr Bienkowski explained that successful teams also accrue added expenses tied to hosting or traveling to playoffs and tournament competitions.

Another document circulated by Mr Bienkowski shows that in the current year, only about 10 percent of student activity costs are generated by pay-to-play fees - and next year, that percentage is budgeted at 8.7 percent. According to that document, the highest recorded offset occurred in the 2007-08 fiscal year, when $114,385 was posted to the General Fund from pay to play revenue - covering 15.4 percent of the total activities costs.

In the ensuing nine years, General Fund contributions have covered between 10 and 11 percent of the total costs.

During the council meeting, Superintendent of Schools Joseph V. Erardi, Jr, assured that all of the $189,473 collected is used to reduce taxpayer costs related to student athletics. At the same time, the superintendent acknowledged that while "activity cost is constant, revenue is in flux."

By far the highest breakout expense under the "extracurricular activities" section in the district's budget request is associated with three separate "activities salaries," lines adding up to $553,695. Sports-related transportation/travel costs distributed across two separate budget lines add another $115,910 to the request.

In yet another document breaking down athletic field trip transportation for the current year, the greatest expense, $12,232, is exclusively for transporting players between the high school and other locations or facilities within Newtown. An added $4,320 will be spent busing sports participants to NYA at Fairfield Hills.

Fifty-five projected trips for athletes to Danbury will cost $10,175; 38 trips to Middlebury will cost $7,030; 30 trips to Stratford are billed at $6,750; and 28 trips to Brookfield are budgeted to cost $5,180. The gymnastics team is expected to complete six trips to Beckett, Mass., at a cost of $2,400.

Among other line items, sports supplies add $66,700; trainers are budgeted at $44,353; repairs are anticipated to cost $34,000; and athletic activities insurance is budgeted at $40,000.

Since 2010, the fees collected through the high school's three-tiered plan have been consistent at $100, $150 and $200 per sport for those who pay to participate. But Dr Erardi told the council that cost waivers requested by parents are available.

"We don't want a [student] to not participate because they can't afford it," Dr Erardi said.

In the current year, the high school offers 29 varsity sports, with approximately 1,075 students participating.