Norwin proposed field fee hike rejected as critics cry foul

A divided Norwin School Board rejected a proposal to increase the fees charged to groups that use the high school stadium and athletic fields.

The school board this week voted 4-3 to nix the proposed fee schedule.

Directors Christine Baverso, Alex Detschelt, Patrick Lynn and Robert Wayman voted against the proposed fee hike, while board President Darlene Ciocca, Shawna Ilagan and Raymond Kocak voted for it. The board will revisit the fee schedule, said Ciocca, but she did not predict when that might be.

The proposed schedule would have increased hourly rates from $17 to $150 for Norwin Youth Football and Cheer and other community groups using Knights Stadium. The stadium lights fee would have cost $400 an hour, up from the current rate of $202. Use of the two concession stands would cost $100 an hour each. The hourly fees for charitable and community groups using the stadium would have risen from $150 to $300 and from $300 to $400 for other groups.

The fees for using school facilities have not increased since the 2019-20 school year, according to Norwin’s website.

Norwin Youth Football and Cheer typically pays $780 when it uses the football stadium and facilities for 12 hours, but that cost per game would have jumped by 800% if the fee hike was approved, said Stan Gorski, a football coach and Norwin Youth Football vice president. The organization, which has 187 football players and 200 girls in cheerleading, uses the stadium for five games.

The hourly cost of paying for maintenance personnel would have increased from $60 to $75, while the hourly fee for using any school technicians would have increased from $50 to $100.

Gorski said he thought that “the rates should be raised, but not that high.” By comparison, the Pine-Richland and Gateway school districts do not charge for their facilities, Gorski said.

Even with fundraisers, that rate hike “is not sustainable” by the organization, Gorski said. They would have to seek alternative fields, he said.

Melanie Harhai, whose son plays football in the organization, said she thought that the increase was too high for facilities that are financed by the taxpayers.

The organization conducts fundraisers, but “this increase is not sustainable,” Harhai said.

Baverso, whose son is involved in youth sports, also said the increase is not sustainable for those sports organizations.

“This is a humongous jump,” Baverso said.

All of the board members were aware of the proposed increase, Ciocca said, noting that the school board did not raise real estate taxes as a way of increasing revenue.

Kocak said there was no discussion when the proposed facility fee schedule was on the agenda for the Aug. 7 meeting and no opposition when presented in the budget and athletics committees.

In voting for the increase, Ilagan said, “we’re losing so much money.”