By Louis Hoglund
Perham school officials are examining equitable ways to share expenses with students who engage in sports at another school district.
Hockey and a proposed cooperative agreement with Detroit Lakes schools has prompted the discussion. The board is expected to act on the Perham-Detroit Lakes hockey cooperative at the May 23 meeting, 6 a.m.
The most expensive sport to participate in, the cost per student in hockey is estimated at $2,000 to $3,000 per participant, reported activities director Fred Sailer at the May 11 school board meeting.
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This compares to about $300 to $400 per student in most sports. Gymnastics is about $1,000 per participant.
Sailer is trying to come up with an equitable formula in providing some school funding for the students who play hockey at Detroit Lakes. Sailer is working on a system that would subsidize hockey players at a level comparable to the "average" of all sports. Example: if the cost per participant, averaged over all sports, was $400--Hockey players would be funded at $400 by the school. The remaining cost would be funded by parents, a hockey association, or some combination.
The cooperative arrangement with Detroit Lakes would be similar to an arrangement with New York Mills in swimming. Last year, a diver from Mills participated with the Perham swim team.
