Prep Notebook | Seattle principals OK pay-to-play

Principals of Seattle's public high schools have approved the concept of paying to play for interscholastic sports participation beginning in the fall.

The proposal going before finance committee of the school board May 24 calls for a $50 fee for one sport and $75 for two or three sports.

If approved, the proposal would move before the full school board in June.

Under the proposal, fees would be reduced in half for students on free or reduced lunches. Also, school administrators at each high school would be allowed to waive the fee in some cases.

"What you don't want to do is deny a kid the opportunity to play based on his or her financial situation," said Al Hairston, athletic coordinator for Seattle Public Schools.

Dick Lee of the Office of School Partnerships, said the fee would be payable only if a student makes a team.

Hairston said revenue collected from the fee will go toward athletic-transportation costs. Lee said the measure might raise more than $150,000. He said the money is needed because revenue from vending machines has decreased because pop and junk food no longer are sold in school machines.

Most suburban school districts surrounding Seattle have "pay-to-play" in effect, Lee noted.

Lee said no fee is planned for public middle-school athletics.

Ingraham hires coaches

Ingraham has hired two head basketball coaches.

Michael Richards succeeds Holly Millard as girls coach. Millard was Metro League coach of the year in the 2005-06 season and is stepping down after two seasons.

Richards is an Ingraham alum who has been head track coach for six years. He is a former Lakeside basketball assistant.

Anthony Lanier succeeds Ben Hazelwood as coach of the boys team. Hazelwood was varsity coach for four seasons. Lanier is being promoted from assistant.

Note

• Jerry Ellison of O'Dea High School has won the Jill Curran Sportsmanship Award given by Metro League tennis coaches for character on and off the court. Curran was a tennis standout at Seattle Prep who was killed in 2002 at age 20 in a London bus-pedestrian accident. The Joe Flickinger Team Sportsmanship Award went to Nathan Hale, whose coach, Ron Coleman, won the Gary Case Coach of the Year Award.