At Hays High School, some students feel that certain activities or organizations get more funding from the school than others.

Sparse funding is not uncommon to many high school organizations. Whether it be a small school or a large school or a minor organization or a major organization, many struggle with figuring out funding. Seeing organizations that have adequate funding make many dream of what they could have if they had half that type of funding.

Hays High’s marching band bought new uniforms for $70,000 in 2022 to replace the 20-year-old ones that usually only last for eight to 12 years. They have to buy 12 sets of music just for concert band, with one piece costing anywhere from $65 to $150 or more. They have to buy other music for pep band, marching band and jazz band, as well. They also have to pay for drill writing, band trips, festival/contest expenses and new equipment throughout the year.

The band’s district funding budget is $1,870, and the band makes about $3,000 to $5,000 in fundraising every year. Compared to other 5A bands, they do not have nearly as much funding. While the school does help with repairing instruments, which is not the case with every school, band director Matt Rome said he is grateful for the administration for doing what they can to help the band.

“A 5A band program simply incurs a lot of expenses just to operate at a basic level,” Rome said. “I sincerely appreciate everyone’s efforts to ensure that the band program gets most of what it needs.”

Another program that has to fundraise to get what it needs to function yearly is the cheer team. While the team got new uniforms last year, the cheerleaders must buy all the other things apart from their uniforms, and that can all add up. The members also fundraised to go to state and national cheer competitions, and the junior varsity team raised money for new cheer mats and other things the squad needed.

Yet another example of a program that functions mainly through its own work is the journalism program, including newspaper and yearbook. While journalism receives a small budget from the district, it essentially only covers the cost of printing the newsmagazine each year. To pay for the yearbook itself, the yearbook staff sells business and senior advertising to keep the cost down for students buying yearbooks. To pay for other costs, such as conferences, contests, critiques, subscriptions for apps and websites they use and technology they need, like cameras, they have to sell even more advertising in both the newsmagazine and the yearbook or get grant funding.

While many academic, activity and even athletic organizations at Hays High struggle, others get a lot of support from the school and the community. For example, the football team gets plenty of support and are well off, being able to buy new uniforms very frequently. But, what about those organizations that do not get the same support? They try to fundraise, and even then, they may not be able to reach the amount they need for the things that they need for years, or they are practically self-sufficient to do what they need. Some organizations have gone over budget while others let money sit because they have a larger budget that leaves excess money. So, should it be on the community to donate fairly or the school to provide funding that each organization needs?

26kfischer@usd489.com