Parents and students say ASB funds were withheld, blocking seniors from national theater trip

Parents, students and community members urged the Clover Park School District Board of Directors to reverse a recent decision preventing Harrison Prep seniors from using associated student body (ASB) funds to attend the International Thespian Festival in Bloomington, Indiana.

Hillary Stevens, who said she is a parent and represents a group of Harrison Prep families, told the board the drama club includes 94 students in grades 6–12 and that the club had budgeted and fundraised over two years to attend the festival. "Last year the club approved a budget that was subsequently approved at the building and district levels that included funds to pay for the trip to Indiana," Stevens said, arguing administrators later told advisers the ASB accounting guidance and district interpretations prevented seniors from participating.

Student speakers echoed that account. Lola Stevens, who identified herself as a Harrison Prep student and member of Thespian troop 8433, said she and peers had raised nearly $5,000 specifically for the trip. "Our understanding of RCW 28A.325.030 explains that field trips must be offered to everyone in the club," she told the board, and added that the students interpreted the cited statute and accounting manual as permitting the planned expenditures.

ASB officers and the drama club adviser were described as having followed budget procedures, speakers said; one student said administrators approved the club's budget last year with the same intent. Kelsey Benson, an HP student and club officer, described how the late decision made the trip inaccessible for many students: with the registration deadline near, students who planned on school support would have to cover additional costs they could not raise in time.

Several speakers directly contested the district's stated rationale. Dr. Lyanna Bola, identifying herself as a Clover Park resident, said the district and school previously accepted the club's 2025–26 budget that included the trip and asked whether the decision reflected a single administrator's interpretation or a board vote. "There needs to be more transparency from administration and the CPSD board to Harrison Prep drama families," she said.

Board members did not make a new public ruling during the comment period. The comments prompted requests for clearer explanation of the legal and procedural basis for the district's determination, and speakers asked the board to re-examine whether student-raised ASB monies budgeted for the event could be spent as intended. The district cited WAC 392-138-105 and RCW 28A.325.030 during the discussion; parents and students said the cited language does not explicitly prohibit their planned expenditures.

The board did not announce an immediate vote on the matter at the meeting. Citizens who spoke requested timely clarification given registration deadlines for the festival.