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Schools

Northwestern AD Reacts to New County Pay Rule

Prince George's student-athletes will have to hand over $50 to play high school sports next year.

There have been many standout athletes who have walked the halls of Northwestern High School in recent years.

They include Jeff Green, a former basketball star who spent the end of last season with the Boston Celtics in the NBA.

Football players from the school that made the NFL include Chadwick Nkang and Gregory Toler.

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But none of those recent athletes had to pay to play at the public school. That will change in the fall. On June 9, Prince George's County schools passed a rule that will require student-athletes to pay a one-time fee of $50 to play on a high school team during the 2011-12 academic year.

That fee will cover the cost of any athlete that wants to play on one or more teams during the academic year, Northwestern athletic director Terri Dendy told Patch on June 14.

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How does she think the new rule will be received by coaches, parents and students? "Some of the coaches feel it may create a hinderance," she said. "Some fear we may not have a junior varsity program."

Dendy said she has had no discussions with students about the new rule.

"The one thing that I assured coaches is that [fee] is something we have to push towards and let people know that money is going back to the general fund and will be explained at parents' meetings," she added. "We need to start having that conversation with student-athletes. Some coaches are looking to see if they can get a sponsor for kids who are in need" and may not be able to pay the fee.

"This is the first time we have implemented an activity fee for high school athletics in our district," said William R. Hite, Jr., superintendent of schools. "It is one of many strategies that will enable us to continue enrichment and extracurricular programs for students during these difficult economic times."

Dendy said students, parents and coaches must rise to the challenge.

"We just have to be creative what we are going to ask of the kids," she said. "The coaches have to be mindful and we can't ask for a lot" beyond the $50 fee.

Dendy said there about 400 students who took part in junior varsity and varsity athletics during this past school year at Northwestern. That number includes athletes who played more than one sport. She said she expects around the same number of athletes for the 2011-12 academic year.

The athletic director added that the Wildcats will have several new varsity coaches for the upcoming school year, including those for girls basketball (Linsey Bailey), swimming (Jami Williams) and baseball (Jabari Graham). Graham is a graduate of Northwestern who played baseball in college. Williams also graduated from Northwestern, Dendy said.

Terrance Burke (boys basketball) and Bryan Pierre (football) will return as head coaches, according to Dendy. Burke and Pierre could not be reached for comment on the $50 pay-to-play rule.

The last day of school for Northwestern students is June 17 and the last day for most teachers is June 20.

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