Sport Levy Fact Sheet
By OBHS | Posted: Thursday February 14, 2019
Our Board realised the need for the school values to be embedded in our sports curriculum and for Otago Boys’ High School to offer the best possible experience for all. The Sports Levy; introduced and approved at the November 2018 meeting of the Board of Trustees, is a contribution to the financial support that we need to ensure we meet the strategic aims for sport. This document has been put together to answer some of the key questions.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. How much is the levy?
The annual Sports Levy for 2019 has been set at $40 per student playing sport. This is a one-off annual fee and the number of sports or levels of competition that your son competes in does not increase or decrease the levy. The levy is set by the BOT annually.
2. What are the levies for?
Otago Boys’ High School has one of the highest participation rates in Secondary School sport. We would like to retain this achievement but also wish to encourage participation growth; ensuring the breadth, depth and quality of the sporting programmes meet the needs and expectations of the community.
Unfortunately, the cost of administering sport has been increasing. These costs are related to staffing positions, time and reimbursement of expenses. Previously these were covered by us. The school is no longer able to absorb the extra costs and extra time into the current staffing structures and budgets.
One of the key features of our school is that nearly all staff are involved with a sports team. To keep teaching staff, who already have a significant curriculum responsibility involved on the sideline, we need to lessen the burden of administration. Otherwise we will lose them. Parent’s too who volunteer need to be recognised in some form and new coaches attracted.
The sourcing of outside sponsorship will still happen and we have appointed a person to lead that. That money will also contribute to the development of sport here in the school.
The school assures parents that this money will be spent to benefit all students involved in sport. It will not be used to pay for sporting teams or fees for families who struggle, there are other funds for that. The use of the money will be reported through the school’s financial accounts and a report for the Board, on how the money was spent, will be presented at the meeting annually.
3. How is the levy charged/collected?
This one-off annual fee will be added to your school account either in term one if your son plays a summer sport or in term 2 if his first sporting contact that year is a winter sport.
4. If I can’t afford to pay this levy, what should I do?
In the first instance, you should contact the school office. The school has a variety of methods to assist families with the costs of schooling.
Regards
