For such a small school, Bromfield’s sports teams do remarkably well, with many winning league or even state championships, Athletic Director Pam Alexander told the School Committee at Monday night’s school board meeting. Overall student participation in the school sports program is high; for example, the number of Bromfield students playing a sport this year during the winter season is 234, up from 200 a year ago, she said.

There is a high participation rate even though the cost to each student for participating in a sport is substantial. The user fees cover the entire cost of the athletic program, which now runs $201,102 per year, Alexander noted. The fees have to pay for the coaches’ salaries, as well as transportation and equipment costs. Alexander asked the board to consider at least having the coaches’ stipends included in the regular school budget, so that the user fees could be reduced.

The cost for students to play on a team depends on the sport, but usually runs between $200 to $400 per sport, per season. For parents with several children, the costs can quickly add up, Superintendent Tom Jefferson told the board. Alexander added that many students who are runners join the cross country team, as well as both the indoor and outdoor track teams, requiring their families to pay three separate fees.

“We have the highest user fees in the state,” school board member Stu Sklar added.

When asked if the user fees deter kids from trying sports, Alexander said she doesn’t think so, because the schools have set up a process to waive the fees if families can’t afford them. Jefferson did say that the schools may look into instituting a family cap on fees, to relieve the burden on families with several students.

Because Bromfield is a small school, several of its sports teams are combined with other schools, to provide enough players to populate the teams. For example, Bromfield students who want to play football or hockey play on Littleton’s teams. The swim team is made up of swimmers from Harvard, Littleton, Ayer, and Hudson. This year, the baseball team became a co-op team, with players from Bromfield and from The Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Still River, Alexander said.

School Committee member Brian Stevens asked O’Shea if Bromfield offers any noncompetitive, intramural sports, such as Ultimate Frisbee. O’Shea replied that the school doesn’t generally offer them, although students have occasionally stepped forward to organize something of that sort for the community service project required of all seniors.

O’Shea told the board that the athletic program helps build a sense of connection within the school.

“It’s what keeps certain kids tied to our schools,” he said.