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Proviso 209 finance committee reviews holiday tournament losses, considers outsourcing concessions and staffing cuts
Summary
Finance committee reviewed a multi-year deficit from the district's holiday basketball tournament, examined line-item costs and recommended exploring outsourced concessions, flexible security scheduling and student staffing to reduce an estimated $25,000 in expenses.
Proviso Township High School District 209 finance committee members on March 4 reviewed a detailed cost analysis of the district's 2024 holiday basketball tournament and discussed steps to reduce a multi-year operating loss.
Committee members said the tournament generated about $47,376.50 in revenue in 2024 while expenditures were about $106,740.79, worsening a prior-year shortfall and prompting a line-item review of salaries, security, concessions and event staffing.
The committee framed the meeting as an effort to preserve the tournament while aligning expenses with realistic revenue expectations. "We in no way want to eliminate this event," said the presenter identified in the transcript as Krishna, who compiled the PowerPoint used at the meeting. Krishna said sponsorships and attendance have dropped compared with past years and that competing events during the holidays have reduced revenue.
The presentation listed specific expenditures and proposed changes. Food-service salaries were approximately $14,000 in 2023 and $11,000 in 2024; committee members discussed outsourcing concessions to vendors or food trucks to eliminate the district's salary outlay for concessions and reduce related food costs. Krishna said outsourcing could save between $11,000 and $29,000 in salaries plus food costs.
Security staffing was another high-cost line. The district employed 33 security guards working two shifts (one about 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; another about 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.). Committee members discussed flexing guard schedules so fewer guards work on low-attendance days and more are scheduled for the final day, when attendance is highest.
Event-worker costs rose from roughly $15,000 in 2023 to about $21,000 in 2024. The committee presented a breakdown of event roles and recommended using district administrators and students to cover functions such as ticket selling, program sales and some media roles to reduce paid staffing. The committee projected reducing that line by about $7,000.
Other line items discussed included: - Officials/signers: with a pay rate presented as $81 per official per game and three officials per game, the presenter estimated officials costs of about $7,776 for 32 games and a total of about $8,800 including a signer. - Ticketing: printed tickets cost almost $3,200 in the most recent tournament; the committee discussed digital ticketing with a modest surcharge or printing in-house to lower costs. - Equipment and apparel: the district bought 10 basketballs at $100 each, three trophies at $150 each and medals at $5 each. T-shirts were 350 units at $7 each; 40 polos at $42 each were identified as an avoidable cost. - Website and media: the district spent about $3,000 annually on the tournament website; the presenter suggested reducing that to about $500 by using in-house student talent and servers. - Concessions suppliers: purchases from Gordon Food Services were about $4,600 and from Home Run and Pizza about $2,500; outsourcing to vendors or food trucks was proposed to eliminate those line items.
Committee members also discussed nonfinancial strategies to increase attendance and revenue: greater outreach to alumni, more integration with the district's feeder schools, inviting girls' teams to participate and increasing student involvement in operations and marketing. The committee estimated it could "easily save $25,000" next year but said specific savings would require follow-up discussions with vendors and event staff.
The committee reported having met once previously (in January) and scheduled a follow-up meeting for March 6 to refine proposals. No formal motions or votes were recorded in the transcript for the tournament recommendations.
The meeting record shows the tournament review concluded before an update on the district budget process presented by Dr. Hill.
The finance committee said it intends to preserve the tournament while seeking cost reductions; any final program or contract changes will return to the committee or full board for action as required.
