Argumentative Essay: After School Sports In Schools

Thousands of schools across the nation have been debating whether or not their after-school sports should remain or be removed. These schools would save thousands of dollars and be able to afford other things if they cut sports from their budget. Therefore, schools should eliminate sports completely because they can cause financial difficulties for the district, contribute to low academic scores, and keep students from doing other activities.

Many schools have after school sports that are overloading their budget, when they could be spending it on things in the classroom. According to an article by Amanda Ripley, “New bleachers can cost half a million dollars and maintaining a grass field can cost more than $20,000 a year” (10). She also states, “They need to pay for buses for the team, the band, and the cheerleaders, not to mention meals and hotels on the road”(10). This shows that a sport can cost an extraordinary amount of money, just to buy equipment for their students. For these reasons, sports should be cut to save thousands of dollars for the district and their schools.

Although sports can cause major financial problems, studies also show that students who are playing in

Ripley states that, “Players spend long hours practicing, and that commitment extends to the rest of the school - from late night band practices and pep rallies to meeting with parents”(10). Also, when football was cut at Premont High Nathan, a former quarterback said, “ There was all this extra time and you never got behind on your work”(Ripley 10). For these reasons, after-school sports should be removed to give students a chance to pursue other hobbies or have fun doing things with their friends. This information shows that students who played sports never had extra time to do other things like catch up on their homework or hang out with their