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Rogers student asks board to fund travel costs for CTSO state, national competitions
Summary
A Rogers New Tech junior urged the Rogers School District board to create dedicated funding to cover travel, lodging and fees so Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) participants can attend state and national events; district leaders said they will review numbers and existing student activity funds.
Avaya Dansby, a junior at Rogers New Technology High School, asked the Rogers School District Board of Education on Thursday to create a dedicated budget to help students cover travel, lodging and conference fees for Career and Technical Student Organization events.
"CTSO programs play a critical role in bridging the gap between classroom learning and real world experience," Dansby said. "Providing targeted funding to assist with these expenses ... would ensure that no student is denied the chance to represent our schools."
Dansby told the board many students face prohibitive costs when advancing to state or national competitions and asked the district to match roughly 50 percent of travel expenses in high‑need cases. She said two students from the district are currently pursuing or holding state officer roles — Tana Chisholm in HOSA and Dansby herself seeking FBLA state secretary — and that fees for those positions add up quickly.
Board members responded by asking Dansby and her CTSO leaders to provide concrete numbers. "Could you put together some sort of an idea, and email that to me?" the board president asked, according to the transcript. District leaders also said there are existing student activity-account funds that can be used for some travel costs.
Superintendent Dr. Perry said the district has historically helped students in similar situations and that staff would follow up. "We do have some monies to do that so we'll make sure that you get ... we do want to see Rogers Public Schools at state level and at the national level," Dr. Perry said.
Board members did not take a motion or vote at the meeting; one board member made a lighthearted remark about an unspecified $100,000 gift but the meeting record shows no formal action on the request.
The board asked Dansby to provide a budgeted proposal and said staff would discuss the request with student leadership the following day. The district indicated it would explore a mix of student-activity funds and any targeted matching support the board could authorize.
Dansby concluded by thanking the board and opening the floor for questions; the board thanked her and said they would continue the conversation with staff and student leaders.
