Fontana schools are considering offering gym memberships to high school athletes to give them more access to fitness equipment outside school hours.
The idea is to help students who may not be able to do fitness regimens at home.
“Our school gyms aren’t open 24/7, and if a student is taking AP classes and playing a sport, they need time and space to train,” school trustee Andrew Ramirez said at the Wednesday, May 7, Fontana Unified School District board meeting.
“Some families can’t even afford a $5 membership,” he said. “This would give them a chance to keep up.”
Ramirez’s proposal would allow students to access gyms outside school hours using district-funded or subsidized memberships.
Details — such as which gyms would participate, how much it would cost students and how students would qualify — are still being explored by Fontana school administrators.
Some board members raised concerns about using taxpayer dollars when school gyms already exist.
Others questioned how to ensure fairness between schools, monitoring when students would go to gyms and whether non-student-athletes would also want access.
Ramirez’s proposal suggests using grants, partnerships or other outside funding sources rather than relying on Fontana Unified’s general fund dollars.
“This wasn’t about writing a blank check,” Ramirez said. “I believe we can find grants or community partners willing to support this.”
No vote was taken, but school board members asked officials to explore outside funding and report back to them at a future meeting.
