Fee Increase – Payment Due 11/30

Fee Increase – Payment Due 11/30

Following up on Bob’s announcement at the Pumpkin Race, BSA recently announced an increase to the fee to be collected from the Pack for each Cub Scout for 2020. Here is some information and FAQ’s from BSA. Unfortunately this increase came after fees for 2019-20 were collected during annual registration.

We are asking each of you to go to the Pack 197 website shop and pay the additional $27 increase for your Scout dues no later than Nov. 30, 2019.

The Pack 197 Committee is concerned about retention and hardship issues caused by this increase. If you would like to discuss this further, please reach out to me to talk about some options.

I have also had some questions from the Den Leaders, that I thought were worthy of sharing to the Pack as well:

Q: Is this for this scout year or next?
A: It’s for 2020. We, as a pack, collect scout dues on the school calendar year, but BSA collects them from us on the annual calendar year.

For example, my daughter, Maggie, who is new to scouting this year, paid $116 total. Here is the breakdown of those fees:

• $13.75 for Aug-Dec 2019 to BSA
• $60 for Jan-Dec 2020 to BSA
• $12 to Simon Kenton Council
• $30.25 goes to our pack for belt loops, rank awards and patches, den activities, website fees, pack programming like the Pinewood Derby, etc.

Returning scouts pay $14 less because they are only paying for the following calendar year.

Q: For AOL’s, does the annual registration fee and payment follow the scout to their troop if they choose to continue?
A; Yes, your dues will cover your BSA membership through Dec. 2020. Your troop will likely collect dues to help cover the costs for merit badges, rank advancement, and other incidentals, just like we do and that may be immediately upon crossover, but your BSA registration fees will be paid through Dec. 2020.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out to me, Rob Bryant, Bob O’Bryan or your Den Leader.

Thank you for your quick attention to this matter.

Yours in Scouting,
Sarah O’Bryan
Pack 197 Membership