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Central High student urges board help for robotics team fundraising; district points to local supports
Summary
A West Allis Central High student told the board the school's robotics team faces travel and hotel costs that threaten its ability to compete; the superintendent directed the student to district contacts and local supporters.
During public comments at the April 14, 2025 meeting of the West Allis-West Milwaukee School District Board of Education, junior Caden Schafer Rose told the board that the school’s robotics team — ranked 52nd out of 824 in its competition circuit — is running short of funds needed for out-of-state competition travel and hotel stays.
Caden said the team has a three-year run of reaching regional competition but is “running into some financial troubles” and will not have enough money to register for future competitions unless the team identifies donors or receives district support. He said the team handles most costs for hotels when competitions are out of state and that recent travel required students to depart at 2 a.m. because the program could not afford hotel rooms.
The superintendent responded on the record and urged Caden to speak with district representatives present in the room, saying, “There are funds available. This is the first I've heard of it,” and directed him to the people at the meeting to discuss next steps. The board closed the public-comment period and moved on to the consent agenda and budget discussion.
Ending: The student said he was seeking help identifying donors and local funding strategies; district leaders said they would follow up with the student and local staff indicated there are internal and community resources to explore.
