Athletics cuts, higher activity fees and new revenue streams proposed to protect programs

District staff told the joint governance session that athletics cost roughly $2.2 million and presented a package of targeted expenditure reductions and revenue changes intended to reduce district expense while preserving program breadth.

Athletics cuts and savings: staff outlined $177,000 in proposed athletic expenditure reductions, including eliminating one of two middle-school boys soccer teams, cutting one of two middle-school girls volleyball teams, removing one junior-high boys basketball team, and consolidating middle-school baseball from two teams to one. Those team changes were presented as choices where community alternatives exist; staff estimated about $55,000 of savings from team consolidations plus roughly $65,000 from not filling certain supplemental positions.

Activity-fee proposal: curriculum and athletics staff proposed revising participation fees to generate roughly $100,000 in new revenue. A staff example proposed a $250 athletics fee (per primary activity), $150 for clubs and a family/child cap of $400. Administrators said the intent is to encourage participation while capturing revenue more equitably; board members discussed tiered or per‑activity alternatives and the administrative burden of more complex billing.

Ticketing, sponsorships and naming rights: staff proposed charging for more athletic events (proposed $6 adult/$4 student tickets) and to either split ticket revenue with boosters (if boosters continue to run gates) or have the district run ticketing and retain revenue. The administration also described a tiered sponsorship model tied to district assets (for example, the stadium video board) and is pursuing multi-year naming-rights agreements (minimum five-year terms) as another revenue source.

Band, boosters and backlash: the proposed activity-fee structure drew particular pushback from band boosters. Christine Anderson, president of the band boosters, said the marching band is curricular and broadly inclusive, noted the boosters already cover significant program costs (uniforms, trailer, music, camp, repairs) and warned that higher fees and recent staff reductions (the program lost half a teacher last year) could reduce participation and program quality. She asked the board to consider a distinct third tier for curricular activities rather than grouping band with the highest-cost athletics.

Next steps: staff said they will continue to refine the activity-fee approaches, model family‑cap impacts and return with numbers; there was no final vote. The board agreed to further review on April 20 as part of the draft-budget process.