Finding a way to fund BHS sports, activities

Much like any hard-working athlete, Brainerd High School's athletics and activities budget is lean and trim.

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Any "fat" that could have been found in the budget was cut soon after the school district slashed $5.5 million from its overall budget after the failed 2007 operating levy referendum. It's also been trimmed further since the cuts.

Brainerd High School Warrior Kyle Crocker went up for a shot during last week's game against the Willmar Cardinals. By making deep cuts in athletics and activities, as well as raising participation fees, the district was able to retain all of its extracurricular offerings following the 2007 failed operating levy referendum and subsequent $5.5 million in budget cuts. Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey » Purchase reprints of this photo.

No sports and activities were dropped, spared from the board room's cutting room floor mostly because Warrior Way Inc. raised more than $220,000 to offset participation fees for students who can't afford them.

Now, two years after those cuts, middle and high school athletics and activities have nearly a $1.5 million annual budget. However, the cost to the district is approximately $700,000 in net costs and the rest, about $800,000, is gained by participation and gate fees, concession revenue and fundraising efforts by students and community groups. The district's share for athletics is less than 1 percent of the district's total budget.

By the numbers

$80 - The amount that Brainerd High School students paid to participate in a sport before the failed 2007 operating levy referendum and subsequent $5.5 million in budget cuts.

$380 - The amount students paid per sport after the budget cuts and during the fall and winter seasons in 2008-09. The fees were revised last spring into a three-tier fee schedule with high school fees ranging from $250-$450.

397 - The number of BHS students who went out for a fall sport, an increase of 10 students from last year. This is a decrease of 49 students from the 2006-07 school year, although this could be due in large part to the larger than usual high school class sizes at the time, rather than increased fees.

134 - The number of BHS students who received financial assistance, based on a sliding scale, through Warrior Way Inc. for fall sport fees. This represents one-third of participants last fall.

$21,662 - The total amount of financial assistance provided by Warrior Way Inc. for participation fees for BHS students enrolled in a fall sport.

Last year the district trimmed the department's budget even further, a move made to allow for a policy change on school fundraisers and its revised fee structure. The activities department no longer spearheads a general fundraiser each year for all sports and activities. Instead, all sports and activities are provided with baseline financial support by the district. If the team and its supporters would like more - like new uniforms, a coach bus for regular season out-of-town events, another team coach or reduced participation fees for all students in that sport - they have to raise the extra funds themselves. All team fundraisers have to be approved in advance by the athletics department but they are spearheaded by the team itself.

Todd Selk, BHS athletic director, said so far the wrestling team has raised enough to provide a $100 reduction in participation fees for its wrestlers and the Nordic ski team was able to reduce its participation fees by $50. Selk said most teams have been doing some type of fundraising effort. Some teams have sold water softener salt, brats and some teams earned funds helping with community events, such as when the boys' swim team received donations by helping with the Baxter triathlon.

At 7 p.m. Thursday in the Washington Educational Services Building gym, Brainerd FFA will host its first donkey basketball tournament to raise funds for chapter community projects, scholarships and for its members to attend the national convention. Tickets are $6 in advance and $8 at the door.

During the 2008-09 school year, the district implemented a $380 sport participation fee, a dramatic increase from $80 per sport, to help offset budget cuts. Last spring, after fall participation dropped 11 percent and winter participation dropped by 6 percent, the athletics and activities advisory committee recommended a three-tiered fee schedule, which the school board adopted last April.

Ten sports programs - boys' and girls' basketball, gymnastics, girls' and boys' hockey, boys' and girls' alpine ski, boys' and girls' Nordic ski, and wrestling - now cost $425 per sport. Eleven sports programs - baseball, competitive cheer, boys' and girls' cross country, football, boys' and girls' soccer, softball, boys' and girls' swimming, and volleyball - cost $350 per sport. Eight sports programs - adaptive floor hockey, dance team, boys' and girls' golf, boys' and girls' tennis, and boys' and girls' track - cost $250.

Other activity fees range from $20 for state music competitions to $150 for speech and debate. Middle level activity fees were dropped to $100-$150, depending on the activity.

New this year, the district is offering discounts for students participating in more than one sport. All ninth-graders receive a $50 discount per sport per season, as a way to encourage younger high school students to participate in extracurricular activities. BHS athletes who participate in a second sport during the year receive a $50 discount, as well as a $100 discount for a third sport. Middle school students who participate in a second sport receive a $25 discount and a $50 discount on a third sport. The district also has a family cap of $1,500 per year in actual fees paid for students in sixth- through 12th-grade.

One in every three student athletes last fall received some type of financial assistance through Warrior Way Inc. The nonprofit organization provided $21,662 in financial help for student participation fees last fall for 134 students, or about 35 percent of fall athletes, said Selk.

Superintendent Steve Razidlo credited the community for helping to support school athletics and activities but stressed the district has to continue to evaluate whether students' families and the community can continue to share that much of the financial burden.

"We'll continue to evaluate if it's appropriate in our town for our kids," Razidlo said of the district's participation fees and fundraising efforts. "I would dare us to find a community doing this in a more frugal way. I don't think you'll find it."

Steve Lund, director of business services, said last year Selk's office and his staff went through the department's budget line by line, trying to make reductions so the district could budget about $100,000 for the student athletic discounts and revised schedule.

"All the low-hung fruit has been picked off the expense tree," said Lund. "How long can we sustain this, I don't know."

Selk said the final numbers aren't in yet on winter sports enrollments but some have reported decreased participation. He said it's too early to draw any conclusions about how the revised fee schedule, which was implemented last spring, will affect participation. He said at this point the department is not considering to drop any sport or activity; each is holding its own.

"Relative to what we've been faced with, things are going well," Selk said.

JODIE TWEED may be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.