Soccer and football are a relative bargain, but students at Richfield High School who want to participate in varsity sports are likely to pay more for the privilege than those at rival schools.
In a report prepared for the Richfield School Board, RHS ranked at the top among eight schools in the Classic Suburban Conference in fees for basketball ($252 a year), second for gymnastics ($210 a year) and third for baseball, dance, golf, hockey, softball, swimming, track, volleyball and wrestling.
RHS Athletic Director Todd Olson told the board Monday night that some other schools had recently raised their fees while Richfield has held the line. He was at the meeting to request no fee increases for next school year, which the board approved.
The fees for each sport vary because costs some costs, such as officiating, are related to the length of the season, and other are just more expensive to operate.
Here's the breakdown of annual fees provided to the board:
| Sport | Henry Sibley | Hill-Murray | Mahtomedi | North/Tartan | Richfield | Simley | S.St.Paul | St. Thomas |
| Baseball | $225 | $225 | $170 | $165 | $182 | $130 | $175 | $0 |
| Basketball | 225 | 225 | 170 | 185 | 252 | 130 | 175 | 0 |
| Cross Country | 225 | 225 | 170 | 165 | 168 | 130 | 155 | 0 |
| Dance | 225 | 225 | -- | 145 | 196 | 130 | 115 | 0 |
| Football | 225 | 225 | 220 | 225 | 210 | 160 | 175 | 0 |
| Golf | 225 | 225 | 170 | 145 | 182 | 130 | 155 | 0 |
| Gymnastics | 225 | -- | 170 | 165 | 210 | 130 | 175 | 0 |
| Hockey | 225 | 330 | 270 | 225 | 238 | 160 | 195 | 0 |
| Lacrosse | 225 | -- | -- | 185 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Soccer | 225 | 225 | 170 | 185 | 168 | 130 | 175 | 0 |
| Softball | 225 | 225 | 170 | 165 | 182 | 130 | 175 | 0 |
| Swimming | 225 | 330 | 170 | 165 | 196 | 130 | 155 | 0 |
| Tennis | 225 | 225 | 170 | 145 | 154 | 130 | 155 | 0 |
| Track | 225 | 225 | 170 | 165 | 182 | 130 | 155 | 0 |
| Volleyball | 225 | 225 | 170 | 165 | 182 | 130 | 175 | 0 |
| Wrestling | 225 | -- | 170 | 185 | 210 | 130 | 175 | 0 |
In non-sports activities, many of Richfield's fees are higher than the other seven Classic Suburban Conference schools that participate.
Richfield was at the top for band ($115), and drumline-honor guard ($115) and is the only conference school to offer color guard-marching band ($230). It had the third most expensive fees for speech ($75), but the fifth most expensive for math team ($50) and six most expensive for theater ($50 per event).
The report also compared Richfield's activity fees to other high schools in nearby suburbs and to "schools alike," Twin Cities suburban high schools of like populations. In those comparisons, Richfield ranked no lower than third for fee expenses, with the exception of cheerleading, which had the lowest fees compared to the other schools in both categories ($50 a year).
It had the highest fees for boys and girls basketball and boys and girls hockey compared to the area schools (Jefferson, Kennedy, Edina, St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Armstrong-Cooper).
It had the highest fees for girls swimming, volleyball, boys and girls basketball, danceline, boys and girls nordic skiing, gymnastics, boys swimming, wrestling, alpine skiing, baseball, boys and girls golf, softball, boys tennis, and boys and girls track and field among "schools alike," which included Brooklyn Center, Columbia Heights, Moundsview, Irondale, Fridley, Burnsville and Roseville.
