April/May 2021 - 25

I could go on and on with this laundry list of what
gets sacrificed when inadequate budget allocations from
public and/or private/parochial schools are meticulously
analyzed. Add to the mix the societal costs (e.g. higher
dropout rates, increased teen violence) and while it's
clear this is an alarming trend, many public school
boards as well as private/parochial school administrators
look the other way or have advised their athletic directors
to find alternative funding.
From the financial perspective, once a public source
of money, which is typically in the form of taxes, is
either scaled back or eliminated entirely, a type of
" privatization " will naturally occur as a result. More
often than not, the notion of passing on participation
fees to parents is a standard practice among many
schools and is customarily carried out. While this
practice addresses the issue in the short term, ultimately,
this is an unsustainable solution in the long run.
Furthermore, it disproportionately affects those rural
and urban areas that are economically deprived. In fact,
the State of California has made it an illegal practice
and as such, seeking alternative revenue streams is
of utmost importance. With this in mind, corporate
sponsorships, private alumni donations, booster club
fundraising in addition to leveraging the feasibility of
outsourcing licensed merchandise and concessions
as an alternative revenue stream should be judiciously
examined. From this perspective, fundraising creativity
is of paramount importance. Moreover, the aggressive
pursuit of alternative revenue streams should be at the
forefront of planning athletic seasons as well as the
ability to pivot those games/contests amidst the worst
pandemic in United States history. As a result, clearly,
gate receipts are a lifeblood to interscholastic athletic
departments nationwide. However, the COVID-19
pandemic has significantly altered that revenue stream.
Thus, fundraising creativity is the operative word in
our contemporary environment. For example, Brandon
Spaeth, CAA, assistant director of athletics at Roger
Bacon High School in Cincinnati leveraged that creativity
to his advantage. As a result of a collaboration between
Spaeth and student sportscaster Ethan Herzog, they
piggybacked on an idea from the NBA's virtual fans and
they ultimately came up with the idea of turning the
video-board within the Roger Bacon gymnasium and
created a virtual watch party for students and fans.
Holistically, both public and private sources of revenue
are needed to sustain education-based athletic programs
in both the short and long term. Furthermore, leveraging
more private support would certainly aid in addressing
and lessening the inverse relationship between athletic
participation rates and budget allocations.
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April/May 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April/May 2021
