It was announced in October that the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) would be implementing a new “COVID Installment” fee for the 2020-2021 school year. This fee will be altered for every school, based solely on school size, and would be paid in addition to regular membership fees. MSHSL is implementing this installment to collect over $3 million in revenues.  Multiple schools have now announced that they have no plans on paying these sums. 

Senator Karin Housley (R-Stillwater) today released the following statement in response to the situation:

“I am so upset to see these costs passed onto our schools. The last year has been challenging for everyone—every business, school, and organization lost money during the pandemic, but under no circumstances should this shortfall be passed down to our schools. Schools are funded based on the students they serve, yet the fees proposed in October request schools with 153 to 386 students to pay the same percentage of the total membership fees as schools with enrollments that are much larger. This just doesn’t make any sense.

Frankly, I’m glad our schools are standing up to this ridiculous request. Our schools have been hurt this year, and so have our families and students. Sports have finally returned, and what should be a beacon of hope is turning into a new bill for schools and families to pay after a year of hardship. If schools can’t afford these sky-high payment demands, it will only hurt our kids and their sports teams, and that’s not right. The Minnesota State High School League has made several questionable decisions throughout the pandemic, so I can’t say I’m surprised by this new fee. I can only hope MSHSL reverses course and retracts these financial demands.”