The Mounds View School District, which includes Mounds View and Irondale high schools in the north metro, recently announced a plan to offer free admission for high school students to home athletic and fine arts events.

Some schools across Minnesota are testing the idea to help improve attendance and connect with their students.

A number of schools already give free admission to home contests and approach it as a blanket policy: free admission to all who qualify. Others require students to meet a set of criteria, seeing free admission as a reward.

“Chris Fink and I were wondering what we could do to get more students to come to games,” said Mounds View athletic director Jim Galvin Jr., referring to a conversation with the former Irondale activities director. “We ran it past the school board, and they agreed.”

Some schools do not offer the carrot of free admission to students, regarding admission fees as vital revenue to offset costs.

At Chanhassen, all students registered for a fee-based activity, such as a sports team, receive free admission and a sticker on their student ID identifying their eligibility. All other students are required to pay the $6 admission fee.

“I believe our finance department looked at allowing all students into games for free, but with the loss of potential revenue, they decided to hold off on making that change,” Chanhassen activities director Mike Bailey said.

Heidi Danielson, a longtime member of the Mounds View school board and parent of two Irondale graduates, said the idea originated a few years ago as a response to COVID-19’s impact on attendance.

“We’re always looking for more ways to build connections with students, and when this came up, we were all thinking: ‘Yeah. This is a great idea. Why haven’t we thought of this before?’ ” Danielson said.

Offering free admission to students for sports and fine art events has been in place at Hastings the past 25 years. High school students can earn either a blue card or a gold card based on a set of academic and attendance measurements. Students must maintain those standards to keep access cards valid.

“The program, which also includes benefits in the community, like $5 or $10 off at a local business, has had universal approval,” Hastings athletic director Trent Hanson said.

Hanson acknowledged free admission for high school students does mean a corresponding loss of revenue but said it pales in comparison with the benefits gained.

“If you lose $5 each from 50 students each over 100 games a year, that’s $25,000,” Hanson said. “That’s significant. But we have to ask ourselves: What are we doing [extracurriculars] for? For the students. And anything that helps them connect with their school is worthwhile.”

Waconia offers free admission to grades 9-12. Students use their student ID to access the games, and incoming freshmen can use a school-provided document to attend games until they receive their school ID.

Waconia athletic director Bucky Mieras said free admission benefits students with limited financial resources while encouraging attendance.

“Students can attend more events and not feel the pressure of constantly paying,” Mieras said via email. “I have seen more students trying to attend events with friends, and at times the turnouts are great.”

The Shakopee School District began giving students free admission in 2014. Shakopee students in kindergarten through eighth grade are required to be accompanied by an adult. In the 11 years since enacting free admission, student attendance at section and state tournament games, which are administered by the Minnesota State High School League, has increased, said Shakopee assistant athletic director Crissy Shoemaker.

“It saves money for the students,” Shoemaker said. “We’ve seen better attendance at section and state tournament games. The kids aren’t so tapped out by the end of the season.”