Sports funding at HHS

For many student athletes, raising funds for their respective teams has become a part of the culture of high school sports.

Josie James, sophomore, is a member of the Hopkins Royelles Dance Team. Like any other sport, the dance team does a lot to help pay for small expenses.

“The dance team does a series of fundraising to help pay for the sport, including a car wash, selling dance team shirts and a Chipotle fundraiser,” James said.

Fundraising is a crucial part in keeping high school sports running. Teams participate in fundraisers that can help bring in money to pay for a wide variety of wants.

For example, many times on an athlete’s social media, there is a poster that says a certain restaurant will give back 15 percent of money made by people who showed or mentioned the poster when purchasing food. Another popular fundraising opportunity for teams, is selling cookie dough, or superfan shirts.

“Even though it may seem like a lot of work, I enjoy fundraising because it is a time to bond with my teammates while getting support from members of our community,” James said.

Though fundraising is an important way to raise money for the individual sport, school districts are able to help out with the big funding of high school athletics.

Recent budget deficits in school districts across the state though, is tightening the budget for athletics, and other extracurricular activities. The Minneapolis School District projected a 33 million dollar deficit for the 2018-19 school year, according to the Star Tribune. The Hopkins school district has seen deficits in their own budget too.

Jacob Waldman, assistant activities director and finance coordinator, plays a very important role in the activities department at HHS. As the finance coordinator, Waldman is in charge of making sure all the bills in the activities department are paid in time. Waldman is also the equipment manager, in which he makes sure uniforms and equipment that is given out in the beginning of the year, comes back at the end of the year.

“All yearly budgets are given to us by the district. These budgets are used for busses, paying of officials, entry fees into tournaments or races, coaching staff salaries, uniforms and miscellaneous expenses that may occur throughout the year,” Waldman said.

Waldman went on to discuss the separation of this money.

“The allocation of funds is largely based on what is needed by each program. The success of a team does not impact the budget, and funding is consistent by gender as well,” Waldman said.

Booster clubs are a huge help for teams that have a list of desires that are not necessary for spending the district’s money on. They also help organize recognition nights, help coordinate fundraisers and help spread information regarding the schedules and team events.

“The best part about my job is watching Hopkins students do things they are passionate about,” Waldman said. “Being able to facilitate that, and to give our students these opportunities is a very fulfilling part of the job that never gets old.”