First thing is first: Clear Creek ISD has promised that it will not prevent any student from participating in extracurricular activities if they cannot pay the fee.

Read that line again, parents, concerned citizens and aspiring athletes. Don't let the $50 fee keep you from participating next school year and beyond. While a structured program in waiving the fees has yet to be implemented, the district insists it is not a pay-to-play system.

Let’s discuss the specific details of the new program, which was recommended by a Citizen’s Advisory Committee consisting of 52 parents, business leaders, senior citizens and teachers.

Because 4,058 Clear Creek ISD high school students participate in athletics and 2,446 participate in fine arts, and 1,862 athletes and 3,654 students participate in fine arts at the intermediate level, additional funds are needed.

Dickinson and Friendswood ISD already have similar fees. The fees at Clear Creek ISD will range from $20 to $50 depending on different circumstances. The new fees are expected to generate $478,730 in supplementary funds.

The following statement was provided in an email by Elaina Polsen, Clear Creek ISD Director of Communications:

“The District will not prevent any student from participating in extracurricular activities if they cannot pay the fee. The boosters do an amazing job in supporting our programs and we deeply appreciate their support. The Booster fundraising efforts go toward various items. In fact, they already pay for transportation expenses beyond Region IV, which has been a tremendous help as gas prices continue to climb.

“The fee, which many school districts have already implemented at a higher level, is designed to keep the quality of the programs intact as the district faces another round of reductions in state funding.”

Starting next school year, parents of Clear Creek school district students at the intermediate and high school levels will have to pay fees for their children to participate in extracurricular activities, including sports. The fees are meant to offset the cost of purchasing and maintaining equipment.


Clear Springs' Grant Tippet, right, guards Clear Creek's Brian Mcintyre. Photo by Kevin M. Cox

As a witness of the power of the booster clubs at Clear Falls, Clear Creek and Clear Springs, I am amazed the situation has come to this.

District spokeswoman Janice Scott said that if the fees — $50 for the first high school student and $30 for each additional and $30/$20 for middle school children — are not affordable, then the district would waive the fees.

I’m assuming there will be a system in place to make that decision, but I sincerely hope this doesn’t slow the momentum and growth that League City’s athletes and high school sports community has experienced in the past decade.

The ultimate tragedy would be for a standout athlete like Clear Springs receiver Marcus Johnson, Clear Falls volleyball/basketball star Erin Farmer, Clear Creek quarterback Austin Smith or any of the countless other Clear Creek ISD athletes to earn college scholarships through sports to be told, “No, you can’t participate because you didn’t pay.”

I know when I was in school, our teams were loaded with football players who couldn’t afford cleats, baseball players who couldn’t afford gloves and tennis players who had to share rackets. For just one — just one — of those children to be robbed of their privilege to play these character-building games would be a shame.

I understand that these are trying economic times, but there are dozens of other places to find these funds other than the athletes and their families.

What do you make of the new policy? Are you a concerned Clear Creek ISD parent? If you’re a parent at another Galveston County school district, what would you do if it came to this?

I’m back from a weeklong vacation feeling rejuvenated and ready for spring sports. December was a relatively quiet month for Galveston County sports as the football season ended earlier than many expected.

But the high school basketball season is really starting to heat up now that the teams are digging into district play.

For the boys, both Clear Springs and Clear Creek are serious threats to take the District 24-5A title. Manvel and Dawson seem to have District 24-4A on lock, but pretty much any of the other Galveston County teams have chances of grabbing a playoff spot. Texas City, Friendswood and Clear Falls might be the frontrunners, but La Marque, Ball and Santa Fe could change things in the new year.

On the girls side, we’re already getting an idea of how things might play out. Clear Springs is just as dominant as we expected them to be, even despite having to battle the injury bug a bit. Clear Creek and Dickinson are both legitimate playoff contenders on their heels. In District 24-4A, La Marque has come on surprisingly strong so far, but Friendswood, Ball and several other teams have made strides.

We’re also upon the start of the high school soccer season, believe it or not. I don’t doubt Friendswood’s Laura and Stephen Peter will return talented groups to the pitch in the North County, but several other teams have key pieces returning from last season. I’m currently gathering things for an upcoming high school soccer preview.

Professionally, the Rockets are underway and not looking quite as bad as they were supposed to be, but we’ll just have to see as things develop. The Texans stunk up their final three weeks of play, and they limp into Saturday’s playoff opener against the Bengals.

Everyone talks about resolutions for the new year — have you made any sports-related resolutions? Should be an interesting year, especially if we defy the Mayans and make it all the way through.

Our sports world is moving so fast right now that I’m just trying to keep up. In this post, I’ll ask 20 questions that we’ll have answered by Sunday evening.

Cougars

1. Can La Marque beat Manvel two months after the 29-14 loss?

2. How will La Marque’s offensive line handle Manvel’s monstrous defensive line?

3. Will La Marque attack Manvel’s defense through the air or on the ground?

4. What live chats will The Daily News have this week?

5. Will there be another brawl in this game with emotions running high?

Texans

6. Can rookie quarterback T.J. Yates play well enough to beat the Falcons?

7. How many times might the Texans sack Matt Ryan?

8. How many rushing yards will Arian Foster have?

9. How many turnovers will the Texans have?

10. Will we see veteran backup quarterback Jake Delhomme on the field?

College football

11. Can Texas’ defense spoil Robert Griffin III’s Heisman quest at Baylor?

12. Will the University of Houston finally lose against a ranked team?

13. Can Oklahoma spoil Oklahoma State’s notion that they should play for a title?

14. Will we see an LSU/Alabama rematch in the national championship game?

15. Will Georgia even score two touchdowns in this so-called SEC title game?

High School Hoops

16. Can Clear Springs return to the championship game of the Carlisle/Krueger Classic?

17. Which reigning regional finalist will win its first game first, Ball or La Marque?

18. If Clear Creek and Clear Falls play in the Carlisle/Krueger Classic, who’s the favorite?

19. Can Friendswood upset Bellaire on Friday?

20. Who has been the most improved team so far this season?

Jordan’s answers:

1. It’ll be tough but yes.

2. Desperate aggression.

3. Let ‘er fly!

4. Preview chat on Friday night at 7 p.m. and play-by-play beginning at 1:45 p.m. Saturday.

5. Hopefully not.

6. Probably not.

7. Four.

8. 124.

9. Three.

10. Better hope not.

11. Yes, but not sure about a victory.

12. Unlikely.

13. Definitely but hopefully not.

14. Sigh, probably, yawn.

15. Psht, unlikely.

16. Oh, yes, but Clear Lake will be tough.

17. La Marque.

18. Clear Falls.

19. Eek! possibly.

20. Texas City boys, hands down.

Wow, wow, things sure are moving along quickly nowadays.

One minute, we had six football teams in the playoffs, the Astros are in the National League and the Texans are going to the Super Bowl. The next minute, we’re down to three teams, the Astros are looking for a designated hitter and the Texans are banking on Matt Leinart to come through in place of Matt Schaub.

First thing is first: After picking up bi-district playoff victories, La Marque and Clear Springs are moving on to this weekend’s area round. La Marque will play Sharpstown Friday at 7 p.m. at Clear Creek ISD Veterans Memorial Stadium in League City (lucky you, Coog Nation). I’m thinking the Cougars will pick up the victory, but we’ll be chatting about things they can do to lose in Friday’s noontime Playoff Pigskin Preview chat.

We’ll also be discussing Clear Springs’ area matchup against Port Arthur Memorial. The Chargers take the field at Stallworth Memorial Stadium in Baytown on Saturday at 1 p.m. This should be a good one, but I think Clear Springs has the offensive firepower to move along.

As always, we’ll have live chats for both of these games, beginning 15 minutes before kickoff on Friday and Saturday. The Dickinson Pine Drive Eagles are also still in the playoff hunt as they take on Victory Life Academy (Brownwood) on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Also, I attended my first basketball game of the season on Tuesday night, and boy, was I spoiled by last year’s heap of talented teams. I’m not sure if it was more the fact that it was a season opener or the tremendous loss of senior talent, but it was interesting to say the least.

If you haven't signed up for our weekly Pigskin Picks contest yet, please do so now. There is still time to play. If you're a college football expert, now is your time to capitalize!

I attended Jerald Temple’s second annual boys basketball brunch on Sunday at Casey’s on the Seawall. I was very impressed with the entire deal as basketball coaches from all over Galveston County came to chat about their teams. Clear Springs’ Chris Johnson, Clear Creek’s Jeff Carroll, Dickinson’s Mike Tucker, Ball’s Temple, Clear Falls’ Darren Chandler, Friendswood’s Jeff Keener, Santa Fe’s Brandon Baker and Texas City’s Chris Mason were all in attendance.



I unveiled The Daily News preseason top 10 power rankings, something I’ll be updating every Thursday this season. Special thanks to my wife, Monica, for putting it together for me on Sunday morning beginning at 12:15 a.m. when I told her about the project through 2:55 a.m. when she finished this awesome board.