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Board discusses waiving student admission fees, explores ticketing system to track attendance
Summary
Directors discussed a proposal to waive the $3 admission fee for Winona students at regular events and to use an online ticketing system (GoFan) to manage entry and track attendance; no formal action was taken.
Board members on March 20 discussed a proposal to waive the $3 admission fee for Winona Area Public School District students at regular-season athletic and arts events and explored using an online ticketing platform to manage entry and offset revenue impacts.
Proposal and rationale Director Keith Watkins described the proposal as intended to reduce financial barriers for students who want to attend school events. Watkins proposed waiving the fee for ninth through 12th grade Winona students; discussion included possible middle-school exceptions (for example, allowing middle-school students to enter free only when accompanied by a paying adult).
Ticketing system and revenue considerations Director of activities (Director Indra) and administration reported the district is piloting GoFan, an online ticketing provider, and recently used it for basketball. Administration said GoFan imposes a small added fee to online purchases but can support season passes linked to student accounts and provide data on attendance. Staff estimated the student-ticket portion of athletic revenue to be about $23,000 in a school year (a portion of roughly $75,000 total ticket revenue) but emphasized that numbers are a best estimate because the existing sales mix includes visiting students and senior-adult tickets.
Concessions and offsets Administrators noted that increased student attendance could boost concession sales and other revenue streams; they also said the district could adjust opposing-school or adult pricing to offset lost student ticket revenue, and that concession and online-ticketing fees may help manage net impact. The district said it will continue to offer a cash option for patrons without smartphones.
Next steps The item was placed on the board’s discussion calendar as a briefing. Staff recommended that Director Indra return with a formal recommendation — including operational details, implementation steps, and an online-ticketing rollout plan — at a future meeting before any formal policy or fee changes are adopted. Administrators noted the earliest operational need would be for August for fall sports, though individual arts events (for example, a spring play in two weeks) might accelerate the timeline.
No vote was taken on March 20.
