By The Editorial Board of The Talon
Editor’s Note: All information regarding future club fees in this article comes from the Sharon School Committee’s March 5 meeting (club fees are addressed in the last 15 minutes of the meeting) and The Talon’s interviews with school administrators. We continue to speak to school administrators to clarify information from the School Committee meeting, and we will write a followup article to address any changes to what has been proposed.
In an abrupt and swift decision, the Sharon School Committee recently passed a motion mandating that students pay fees to join certain clubs during the 2025-2026 school year.
Per the slides posted at the March 5 School Committee meeting, under these new regulations, students will pay $100 per club for access to their first two larger-commitment extracurricular activities, in which the School Committee includes “drama” and “music.” That fee also grants unlimited access to lower-commitment activities, such as “chess” and “yearbook.” For unlimited access only to lower-commitment clubs, students must pay a $50 fee.
This fee structure is still being discussed by administrators and students and is subject to change. Club fees, along with other fees and budgetary decisions, will not be finalized until after the Town Meeting in May.
Under the current plan, although there will be a club fee cap of $200 per student, there is no family cap, meaning a family with three children may have to pay up to $600 in club fees for access to the complete catalogue of clubs.
Are Club Fees Common?
In their March 5 meeting, the School Committee stated that this proposed club fee system is based off of the Acton-Boxborough model — an annual $50 payment for access to all student activities in their middle and high schools. Sharon’s club fees, though, could cost up to $150 more for Sharon families per child than in Acton-Boxborough.
Club fees certainly are not brand new in Massachusetts. School districts around the state have already initiated fees as a method of defraying expenses, and Sharon’s extracurricular fees would follow a similar system next year.
In an analysis of 25 neighboring towns, The Talon found that the schools charging club fees vary in pricing widely. Many schools offer club fees cheaper than Sharon’s proposed system. Other districts charge higher fees, and they vary widely, although some of these towns include additional benefits like prom tickets and/or athletics into their extracurricular packages. Many of Sharon’s close neighbors, though —Foxborough, Walpole, Mansfield, and Stoughton—don’t have any club fees.
Norton charges $50 per activity at both the middle and high schools; Westborough has a $75 per student per club fee with a cap at $600 per family. Newton charges $200 for high school drama per performance with a $600 cap. Norwell charges $20 for their lowest tiered clubs.
Sharon School Committee’s Proposal
On the surface, $50 for access to the majority of clubs at SHS is not a substantial cost for students’ parents—Sharon’s median household income grew to over $180,000 in 2024. Additionally, the free lunch program enables students who cannot afford the club fees to still participate in extracurriculars at no cost. However, there’s a sizable population of families who fall in the middle of these two income levels, and when compounded with athletic fees and costs, this expense could tip many Sharon parents over the edge, leaving some unable or unwilling to pay the additional club fees, according to recent surveys and interviews.
With these increasing costs, a sophomore who plays one sport ($375), takes the bus to school ($600), and acts in one theater production ($100 + additional costs) throughout the year would spend over $1,075 before any financial aid—and this estimate does not include miscellaneous expenses such as class dues, preexisting club entry fees, and costs to attend high school dances, which can add up to over $200.
Sharon Public Schools superintendent Dr. Botelho said that the projected fees will go to advisor stipends; stipend amounts are predetermined by a formula negotiated by the School Committee and the Sharon Teachers Association. “The major expense that the district pays for out of the operating budget is stipends for advisors and directors,” he wrote in an email.
However, the estimated $25,000 raised by club fees will not cover the sum total for the numerous stipended advisors of SHS’s myriad clubs. At the high school, stipends cost more than $92,000 (this is a low estimate); at the middle school, the price is about $19,000. That does not take into account other expenses to run clubs, including association costs and bus fees.
In an email interview, SMS principal Mr. O’Rourke wrote, “The fees will help cover the clubs’ expenses. Teacher stipends, transportation costs, and various other costs are the reason we need to charge a fee.”
The club fees, instead of covering the full price of offering clubs at the middle and high school levels, are intended to provide the school enough money so administrators will not have to cut more teachers or academic programs while still offering all the after school activities.
Anticipated Effects on Club Attendance
According to data from a survey by The Talon, in which over 140 students, faculty members, and families responded, these planned club fees may have detrimental effects on club participation. This poll was posted on Schoology and The Talon’s website, asking students whether or not club fees would negatively affect their likelihood to join a club next year. In a vote of 129, 96.9% of SHS students polled said they would.
The Editorial Board believes that instating club fees will have consequences far beyond overall club enrollment.
For students committed to more leisurely and loose clubs, participation fees may motivate them to abandon the fun, exploratory extracurriculars of SHS and enroll in the more intensive, “bougie” programs to see a greater return on their now mandatory $50+ investment. Instead of joining the Radio Club, for example, students may enroll in more rigorous extracurriculars such as DECA and Debate, taking on additional, high stress coursework, creating a more competitive environment in SHS. The Talon’s Editorial Board believes that this proposed system encourages students to join the upper echelon of SHS clubs and discourages exploration—rendering club fees as the current single largest threat to Sharon High School’s vibrant extracurricular atmosphere.
However, this may not be as detrimental as anticipated. While many schools only offer a small selection of extracurriculars, expecting consistent attendance, with SHS’s vast array of clubs, many students view clubs as places to drop in and out of as they please. Offering so many clubs gives SHS its large after school student involvement, but the costs to run each club add up. With mandatory club fees, students will be expected to take their clubs more seriously instead of only visiting their clubs occasionally. Consequently, they may decide to take part in fewer clubs, allowing themselves to devote more time to the clubs that are actually meaningful to them.
Although Necessary, Club Fees are not Equitable
If the new club fees went back to extracurriculars, clubs with extremely low overhead costs would never see a proportional return on the club fees, either in the form of equipment or advisor stipends. For example, clubs with extremely low overhead costs like the Chinese Yo-Yo club—whose advisor is not stipended—would never see a proportional return on their club fees (teacher stipends for advising clubs are negotiated in Sharon Teachers Association contracts and would not increase because of club fees).
For this reason, the Editorial Board believes that clubs that do not require any funding should not require a participation fee. At this time, it is unclear whether membership in these clubs would include mandatory fees.
In addition, the Editorial Board believes a truly helpful gesture for Sharon families is to impose a ceiling per family on club fees. Currently, there is no plan to offer such a cap, according to Ellen Whittemore, the Assistant Superintendent for Administration and Finance. Sharon already has a family cap on sports fees, and other school districts cap club fees for families. For families with multiple children enrolled in high-involvement clubs, a family cap can make a meaningful difference.
Although the School Committee appears to be giving families a break by maxing out club fees at $200 per student, most students will not be able to take advantage of this ceiling. Clubs to be charged the higher fee are generally extremely rigorous and time consuming, so very few students actually enroll in multiple activities on this so-called “Tier 1” level. This $200 ceiling is unrealistic and misleading because the odds of students reaping the benefits of lowered costs by enrolling in three “Tier 1” clubs is close to zero.
Moving Forward
School Committee members state that they expect the club fees to generate $25,000 for their budget. The price of club fees could be lowered, though, and still reach this goal. If 800 students enroll in the $50 tiered clubs, then they will pay a total of $40,000. At this level of enrollment, club fees could be lowered to $35, and without any enrollment in higher priced clubs, the town would earn $3,000 more than their anticipated $25,000. The prices of club fees are still being discussed, and the recommended amounts that are posted on the School Committee’s slides may not be the final prices.
While club fees are not financially favorable to students, extracurriculars are a major expense to Sharon, costing the school district around $200,000 yearly. While the anticipated $25,000 earnings from next year’s club fees will only make a small dent in this, the town believes this will be enough to save a teacher position. Many towns require club fees, and while this is new to SPS, students will adjust.
The Editorial Board believes that although this fee may be upsetting to some students, maintaining a teacher position is worth instating the fees. While the town should not directly charge the students in order to fix their budgeting problems, club fees are common enough in other towns where this does not feel like an overstep.
The School Committee discusses possible means of revenue like the club fees yearly, so this may only be a temporary budget fix. With the new Sharon Gallery expected to double the town’s tax base when it is fully built, there may be sufficient funds soon to eliminate this proposed fee. The fee would have major effects for the student bodies of SHS and SMS, but many towns have experienced the same struggle and prevailed. If club fees have the power to stop a teacher from being laid off, then students should feel a little more comfortable paying them, even if it should not be their direct responsibility to fill the town budget’s gaps.
To all students: remember that the easiest way to share your opinion is through an email. You can email School Committee members directly at [email protected] or speak at their meetings if you would like to share your thoughts.
About the Editorial Board
The Talon Editorial board comprises of Editor-in-Chiefs Amoli Deshpande, Julian Hoemke, and Charlie Walters; Section Editors Kelsey Mevs and Charlotte Trivedi; Fact Checker and Copy Editor Isaiah Gong and Abigail Lonergan, respectively. The board meets to discuss pressing town news, and the views expressed by the board do not represent the views of the Talon itself.
