Sports fundraisers might kick things up a notch
Podcast Episode
A tighter athletics budget has Janesville school officials considering the expansion of fund raising activities. Kyle Geissler reports.
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JANESVILLE — More Janesville high school athletes will be selling raffle tickets or washing cars if the Janesville School Board approves a proposed policy.
Now, student athletes are restricted to selling tickets to the Craig/Parker high school raffle each fall. They may not participate in any other sports fundraiser.
That rule was made years ago in response to complaints that residents were getting hit too often with requests for contributions.
But as the school budget has been squeezed, so, too, has the athletics budget, officials said. More fundraising could fill the gaps.
Booster clubs, which operate independently of the school district, apparently can't do it all.
"Booster groups are being stretched as they are being asked to provide additional financial support to the athletes and coaches at Craig and Parker," states a proposal recently approved by the Superintendent's Advisory Committee.
Phil Merrick, president of the Craig Football Booster Club, welcomed the change.
"With the economy the way it is, we need to be able to do things with the kids involved, because it's getting tougher," Merrick said.
The policy change would allow coaches to set up their own fundraisers. They would be required to set a specific goal, such as buying a particular piece of equipment, said Kevin Porter, district athletics director.
"The two high schools will need to coordinate activities to avoid similar fundraising efforts being offered at the same time," the proposal states.
School officials would screen fundraising proposals, approving or denying requests based on needs, Porter said.
Fundraising would be restricted to a limited number of events each year, and not every sport would be able to fundraise every year, Porter said.
Details are being worked out, but one idea is to limit fundraising to the sports that are scheduled for uniform replacements in a particular year, Porter said.
Using the uniform-replacement schedule would limit the fundraisers to four or five at each high school each year, Porter said.
Another idea is that instead of selling things, student athletes could offer bratwurst fries or car washes—services that people could choose to patronize rather than being asked for contributions, Porter said.
The athletics budget has increased in recent years, driven largely by salaries, Porter said, but money for supplies and equipment has been stagnant.
Supplies and equipment took a hit last year, when the board cut the athletics department's budget by $50,000. Administrators said at the time that any more cuts would mean cutting a sport.
"As the price of things has gone up and the budgets haven't, your dollar is stretched," Porter said.
The proposed policy change now goes to the school board, which probably will take it up in January, said Lori Stottler, who heads the board's finance committee.
The proposal states that the booster clubs and coaches were contacted about the policy and agree "that if we are going to have first-class programs, then joint efforts will be necessary to help supply them with additional resources."
The booster clubs are the Parker Viking Athletic Booster Club, Janesville Bluebird Booster Club and the Craig Athletic Team Supporters, or CATS, Porter said.
Merrick said the Craig football boosters would have liked to have been consulted, too, but Porter said those three groups are the only booster clubs the district recognizes.
Dec 4, 2008 at 10:53 a.m.
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Amen spiff - high school is tough stuff, no matter where you land on the clique ladder.
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Thanks SarahB, and Twerp13 - giving cash in lieu of buying the $10 candy bars or $20 pizzas is very commendable
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I am now feeling quite nostaligic, and wish my children would eventually attend Parker, as I did. Heck, Coach Cramer might still be there in another 8-10 years!
Dec 3, 2008 at 9:01 p.m.
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Long_Time_Gone awesome post...it's been a long time since i've heard the words "jock" and "skids". I'm a parker pom mom...i love the program and the girls that participate in it. They work their tails off for a 3 minute routine to entertain the crowds at half-time. Everytime they put on the uniform (that I remember Paker having 25 years ago!) They put them on with good old Parker Pride. Money for new uniforms just isn't in the budget for the JV pom squad. I have no doubt that these girls wouldn't give one heck of a good try to a car wash, dog wash, etc, etc. I've seen them work together, cry togehter, and what they do best show the pride they have in Parker together. Lets give all these kids a shot.
Dec 3, 2008 at 7:12 p.m.
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What I hate about fundraising is the practce of some of the promotions. My daughter was not able to sell anything for the Edison fundraiser and so now can't go to the during school green & gold party. A child should not be penalized a in school party just because they couldn't sell some over price cheap a$$ junk. I also don't know how they leagally get away with that. Most contests and prizes (since this is what they called it in there prize listing it as a "PRIZE") have to have the disclosure NO PURCHASE NESESSARY and purchasing does not increase your chances of winning typ of clauses. Anyways I am heading off topic...
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I myself won't buy it as I can get the same quality stuff at the dollartree for only a buck vs the 9.95 the fundraiser catalogs charge. I do donate cash instead at least that way the school gets 100% of the money rather than just 30% - 40%.
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Dec 3, 2008 at 5:36 p.m.
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Long_Time_Gone: Thanks for the great post!! I agree 100 percent with you.
Dec 3, 2008 at 4:17 p.m.
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FateisFickle - well said.
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A long time ago, I played every sport at Parker Senior High, except Coach Cramer's wrestling team (can you believe the guy is still coaching and winning??).
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And I must say, I sucked.
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But, by sacrificing my body on the football scout team, by pulling the 500m Free just so the team garnered points, waiting for Coach Madden to take pity on me and let me pitch the last inning of a game already won, or Coach Griffin, sneaking me on the 5th spot of our varsity team, just cuz I tried really hard (OK, I can golf a bit), my self esteem was raised as I made my way through the peaks and valleys of a school day.
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I was never a jock, but the jocks accepted me as a guy who tried. Because I wasn't a jock, the skids never made fun of me.
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Most of the time, the toughest thing about High School is fitting in. And sports plays a part in that.
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As far as costs, my parents had no real money. But they belonged to the Moose Club and boy could I sell to their friends.
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Let's give the coaches a break. Public Schools need sports. They need music classes. They need drama classes, art classes, and home ec and industrial arts.
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All of the above plays a role, and even compliments the three Rs.
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High school would have been unbearable without finding avenues other than drinking and smoking to fit in.
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Let's not make High School even more cliquey by only having the kids of rich parents afford to play.
Dec 3, 2008 at 3:29 p.m.
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tj24, If you took the money a high school varsity coach makes and divided it by the number of hours they put in you would discover that they are already working for next to nothing. A jv or freshman is making even less. Their pay for the amount of time they put in is ridiculous. hmmmm
Dec 3, 2008 at 2:57 p.m.
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I don't buy it, but it's not that simple. My wife does. ;-)
Dec 3, 2008 at 2:19 p.m.
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I've had children participate in fundraisers for sports and other activities. There are times that I will just make a donation to the cause instead of having them try to sell something I don't support. My children are now grown, but I still purchase from some of the fundraisers.
As far as only participating if your parents can afford...that is an awful thing to say. I purposely donated more than what it cost for my children (when I could afford it), so that other children would not be punished because their parents weren't as financially solvent as myself. Sports or other extra curricular activities might be the incentive some children need to keep up the grades and focus on other goals as well.
Dec 3, 2008 at 2:12 p.m.
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Garyprimer: to some extent you are correct. $2 for a candybar is ridiculous. $9.50 for a bucket of popcorn...overpriced. However, a significant portion of the money goes to cover a financial shortage for a needy cause.
If you really don't want to support the cause...DONT BUY THE STUFF. It's that simple.
Dec 3, 2008 at 1:41 p.m.
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I think that it's reasonable to expect kids to fundraise or pay a fee for participating. The schools are there to educate our kids, not turn them into athletes. I'd much rather see them cut down on some sports offerings instead of cutting teacher salaries and such. Also, if the sposts program is so short on money why aren't their coaches taking a pay cut or freeze? hum....
Dec 3, 2008 at 1:18 p.m.
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Whonellie that's a great idea to restrict school activities to only those whose parents can afford to pay for all the equipment. NOT!!
Dec 3, 2008 at 12:40 p.m.
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Fundraisers are scams. People are pressured into buying items that they do not want or need for ridiculous prices.
Dec 3, 2008 at 10:09 a.m.
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I think if the child wants to be in sports, he should participate in fund raisers fot it. Maybe the tax burden for providing these sports could be lessened. If a child wants to be in sports, charge him for everything, then see if he really wants to participate. This is highschool not a college where they recruit them. Maybe they would appreciate it more if they did,and it would help them work as a team.
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