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Monday, Aug. 04, 2008

FOR SOME PARENTS AND STUDENTS, FUND-RAISING IS A SECOND JOB

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was published in the Lexington Herald-Leader on Dec. 10, 2005.

In Fayette County, booster clubs are big business.

The Lafayette High School band, for example, has more than 100 employees -- all parent volunteers -- and a yearly budget of around $400,000.

About $238,000 of that went to band camp and overnight trips last year, while $160,000 was spent on "general expenses." The previous year's financial report itemized payments such as $2,400 for food from Chick-fil-A, $3,800 for dry cleaning uniforms and $36,900 to charter buses.

While the school system keeps the utilities on and pays head coaches and band directors, booster clubs pick up the rest of the tab. Last year, parents raised $2.8 million for sports and band activities in the county.

The parents who are part of these enterprises spend countless hours supporting their kids' teams. They work at concession stands and bingo parlors, sell products of every kind, wash cars, serve lunch to hundreds of kids and chalk the lines on the playing fields. Some take out personal loans to help fund field houses and concession stands.

This summer, Van Kirk, whose son Bill plays trumpet, took two weeks off from Auto Tech Service, the company he owns, to coordinate the parent volunteers who run Lafayette's band camp. The job requires more hours than his work.

In the mornings, under a blue and white striped party tent, there were parents treating students for heat stroke (the heat index usually breaks 100 degrees during the summer camp) and other ailments. Every aspirin was recorded in binders that track the 200-plus members, their health problems and any medication they take. There was a crew to serve lunch and a crew to build sets and transport members to contests.

Throughout the season, there are parents to coordinate fund-raisers and track the band's income. One volunteer counts up the amount each student earns from the 500 Kroger cards the boosters have.

But there's more than just volunteerism to drive this enterprise. Last year, the parents of most members of the 227-person band wrote a check for $1,100. Each participant had to raise an additional $550.

Putting in work

Debbie Scott was at more Legends games this summer than most season ticket holders. Of the 85 events at the stadium, she attended 75, working concession stands beneath the bleachers for the Paul Dunbar band.

For the three years her son Ben has played trombone in the band, she's been working concessions to help fund the program.

This year, she oversaw eight stands manned by Dunbar band parents and students. She's the first to arrive, hours before the game, and the last to leave, often after midnight.

"It was like having another job," said Scott, who already works as a part-time billing clerk at a chiropractic office and as an on-call registered nurse.

Parents also oversee raising money by selling everything from peanuts to purses.

"We do just about anything legal to try to make a dime for the band," said David Richardson, president of the Bryan Station band boosters.

The only rule that Fayette County communicates to these groups is that the items being sold or the work being done "not bring embarrassment to the school or to the school system and to parents and coaches," said Ken Cox, who retired as director of high schools this year.

Some items sell well, others end up sitting in the trunks of family cars.

It's hard to keep peddling the same goods to the same people over and over again, said Jim Masters, a former Tates Creek girls' basketball coach. And there are few new ideas out there, he said.

"It's tough relying on concessions, banners and car washes, especially when the entire county is doing the same thing," he said.

Some parents tire of the constant fund-raising and just write a check.