Klarinet Archive - Posting 001266.txt from 1998/04

From: Dee Hays <deerich@-----.net>
Subj: Re: budget cutbacks
Date: Wed, 22 Apr 1998 20:33:38 -0400

Jason Hsien wrote:

> A lot of people are going to kill me for this but I side with the school
> decision to support more for the athletic department. After all, the
> athletic department obviously is able to earn lots of money for the school.
> On average, the public is more likely to support high school sports (we even
> have 2-3 local television stations, one of them an NBC station, that shows
> high school sports games, another unaffiliated one with one-hour broadcasts
> of all sports, and then a local community channel) than high school music,
> and therefore schools earn more money from sports, so they can spend more on
> sports.
>
> Further, most schools with athletic programs also have parent booster clubs,
> just like the music programs. Which one obviously makes mroe money? The
> sports.
>
> Think about this logically. Sports have usually one or two "pay-to-enter"
> sports games every week for the entire school year. Bands are lucky to even
> have one pay-to-enter concert. Candy sales and Benefit Shopping Coupons
> aren't big money makers either. The sports department has the money, and I
> doubt the school budget really pays that much more than for music.

If the sports teams are truly making money, then why not use that money for the
sports equipment rather than taking it out of the school budget? There should
be no need to subsidize them.

Dee Hays
Canton, SD