Klarinet Archive - Posting 001368.txt from 1998/04

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: budget cutbacks
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 21:54:37 -0400

At 07:33 PM 4/22/98 -0500, you wrote:
>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.
>
At the college level, it is my understanding that only the University of
Notre Dame actually MAKES money with its football program (not including
alumni contributions which may arise indirectly from it). Unless Jason's
school has a heck of a deal with those local TV stations, I'll bet they
don't either! By the way, Notre Dame uses the money to fund all the other
money-losing sports and the intramural athletic program.

But all this is neither here nor there. If profit is the motive for school
curricula, I'd like to know how much the history department made? Or the
English department? Or mathematics?

Bill Hausmann bhausman@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://www.concentric.net/~bhausman
Essexville, MI 48732 http://members.wbs.net/homepages/z/o/o/zoot14.html
ICQ UIN 4862265

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.