High school athletes fundraising more as sports budgets continue to shrink

By Arielle Mathre of Bluesky Virtual School

Michael Searles, athletic director at St. Paul Como Senior High School, said athletes at Como are only charged about $90 to play football, but it costs $400-$500 to give every player a uniform and equipment.

Photo By: Arielle Mathre

Reporter Arielle Mathre attended ThreeSixty's July Introduction to Journalism camp

“I’ve never turned away a kid who cannot afford to play. If that kid wants to play, and is committed to playing, we will fundraise to let them in.” -- Michael Searles, athletic director at St. Paul Como Park Senior High

Imagine high school without sports, yearbooks without athletes, Friday nights without the lights on at the football stadium.

As Minnesota high schools are facing budget cuts, many high school athletics programs continue to lose funding.

For the 2009-2010 school year, the St. Paul Public School district cut about $450,000 in funding for high school athletics, which means schools aren’t receiving funding for things like uniforms and equipment any longer, said Gerald Keenan, the athletic director at Harding High School and head athletic director for the district.

So high school athletes are adding salesmanship to their list of skills to practice.

Fundraising with car washes or by working at the Minnesota State Fair is becoming more common as teams have to raise their own athletic funds.

Jenn Ulrich, 17, a senior who plays varsity softball and volleyball at Eden Prairie High School, is no stranger to fundraising.

“We fundraise a lot,” Ulrich said. “For softball we fundraise with car washes and pancake breakfasts for our spring break trip. We also fundraise so we can keep our coaching staff.”

In St. Paul, the school district’s athletic budget has dropped to $3.3 million for this coming school year, down from $3.6 million last year, Keenan said.

Keenan said that loss of $300,000 was going to mean the end of middle-school sports. But because the district decided to close Arlington High School, its athletic budget of about $300,000 was able to go to middle-school sports, which also costs the district about $300,000 to provide.

So the cut in funds won’t affect middle or high school sports this year.

But last year’s cut of $450,000, Keenan said, means schools now have to find a way to pay for uniforms and equipment themselves. The district only funds the cost of coaches, transportation and game officials.

Basically, if a school needs a baseball bat, the team has to raise the funds to buy one, Keenan said.

Two factors causing the athletic budget to decrease this year were declining enrollment and the school district’s $27 million deficit, Keenan said.

“Obviously, our budgets were reduced,” he said.

Michael Searles, athletic director at St. Paul Como Park Senior High, said while Como only charges $90 for students to play football, and $55 if students are on free or reduced lunch programs, it costs him $400 to $500 to outfit a Como Park football player.

“I’ve never turned away a kid who cannot afford to play,” Searles said. “If that kid wants to play, and is committed to playing, we will fundraise to let them in.”

At Como Park, athletes fundraise by selling discount cards and doing work at the State Fair cleaning up trash.

Like Como, Harding also does a variety of things to raise money. Keenan said athletes organize car washes, sell steaks and work nights cleaning at the State Fair. Harding is also currently organizing an alumni golf tournament, and hopes to raise $5,000 to $10,000, Keenan said.

Minnesota’s private schools also struggle to fund athletics. Darcy Cascaes, the athletic director at DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis, said that because DeLaSalle is a private school and families already pay tuition, the school does not ask parents to pay for their children’s sports fees.

“As a result we have to be creative and smart with how we manage our budgets,” Cascaes said.

High school athletes at DeLaSalle fundraise by working the concessions stands at Minnesota Twins games and the University of Minnesota football games, Cascaes said.

Yet some Minnesota high schools have been raising their athletic fees. During the 2009-10 year at Brainerd High School, students paid $250 to $450 in athletic fees, depending on the sport. It was a dramatic increase from 2007, when students paid $80 per sport.

But there is hope for high school athletes at Brainerd — Warrior Way, Inc., an organization that helps disadvantaged students afford the higher cost of sports fees.

Keenan said budget shortfalls are projected to get worse next year, which means middle and high school sports could face further cuts. That would mean teen athletes would have to turn even more to their communities to help raise money for their sport.

But he remains optimistic about the future of school sports teams.

“We are going to make sure we have all our programs,” he said.