Argumentative Essay: Should School Athletics Be Paid?

For decades, educational institutions have debated whether after school athletics should stay, or be stopped. Multiple studies have shown that cancelling school sports has had many benefits. Therefore, school athletics should be suspended to cut costs, get schools better graduation rates, and allow students to spend more time to focus on academics.

Obviously sports are expensive, shutting them down would save a tremendous amount of money for schools. For example, Amanda Ripley published an article called “Yes! It’s Time to Scale Back” and in it she states that “new bleachers can cost a half a million dollars” and maintaining a grass field could cost “more than $20,000 a year” (11). That article also said that when traveling for games, schools have to pay for buses, meals, hotels, not to mention painting the lines on fields ( Ripley 11). It stands to reason that sports are very costly and that they can use up a great deal of the school’s money. Clearly, money used on sports should be shifted to then be used for academic purposes.

Evidently sports are pricey; however, another cost for high schools are the decline in seniors graduating. A study by

In her detailed analysis Ripley expresses that, “Athletics even dictate when school starts: Despite research showing that later start times improve student performance, many schools begin before 8 a.m., partly to reserve afternoon daylight hours for athletic practice” (11). In addition, “Players spend long hours practicing, and that commitment extends to the rest of the school, from late night band practices and prep rallies to meetings with parents” (Ripley 11). This shows that sports do not help institutions and they cause many complications that conflict with learning. Certainly, school sports are an issue, they shift focus away from school work and should be put to