Gifts can throw teams off balance
The $500 you chipped in to buy football jerseys may have caused more headaches than cheer.
As donors stipulate where their money should go, athletic directors grapple with factoring in Title IX guidelines and ensuring each sport gets its fair share of the pie.
''Because of Title IX and other guidelines, we can't support the boys without supporting the girls. In a lot of cases, we might receive jackets for the girls' swim team and may not be able to accept them because the boys' team would not receive them," said Anne Gulati, director of financial operations for Needham public schools.
The Needham High School athletic budget this year faces about a $29,000 shortfall. This deficit will increase next year to $40,000, according to a report unveiled at a recent School Committee meeting.
As a result, principal Paul Richards and athletic director John Palmer are drumming up support for the entire athletic fund rather than for specific teams. In the budget year ending next Thursday, the school projected receiving $37,000 in donations for equipment and uniforms. As of this Tuesday, the high school had received uniform and equipment pledges worth just ,500 for six teams. These donations still need to be approved by the School Committee, said Gulati.
Strings-attached donations to specific sports can complicate the entire budget. Each time a team receives a contribution, Palmer must make sure its counterpart is compensated equally, he said.
For instance, at a high school where Palmer formerly worked, though he would not disclose its name, the football team received $400 in awards after winning a tournament. When the girls' cross-country team won the state title, he had to draw on the general athletic budget to make sure they were recognized comparably, with a banquet and trophies.
''No matter where the donation comes from, if it makes an inequity in the program, the School Department is responsible for making it equitable," he said.
The Title IX Education Amendment of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex for any education program that receives federal funding. According to the Office of Civil Rights, which is responsible for enforcing Title IX, some aspects of athletic programs may not be equivalent for men and women because of inherent aspects of the sports: game rules, equipment upkeep and replacement, and rates of injury.
Palmer said the more fund-raising groups there are, the more ''tedious" it is to ensure that the overall program is in compliance with federal regulations. Needham sports teams are backed by at least seven fund-raising groups in addition to a general booster club that endows all teams, Palmer said.
The Needham School Committee and the administration must approve all donations to sports teams. Palmer said that no donations had been turned away this year.
A growing trend is to consolidate all the fund-raising organizations into a unified booster club, thus heading off potential Title IX inequities, said Palmer. ''If everything went into one pot, it's easier to make things equal for all teams," he said.
But this is a tough sell for parents who want to support their own children's teams and for donors attached to the sports they used to play.
Groups that consistently raise the most money such as football and basketball boosters -- don't want to see their efforts diluted across several sports teams, he said.
Needham won't see a unified booster club ''any time soon," according to Palmer, calling the move a ''difficult transition."
Athletic directors statewide discussed unifying booster clubs at a March meeting of the Massachusetts Secondary School Athletic Association in Hyannis.
The Plymouth public schools' athletic director, Doug White, who addressed the group, said he faced much opposition from parents when he implemented a unified booster club five years ago. Since then, he said, the new club has raised 25 percent more money per year than when the boosters worked as separate units.
''The number one thing I saw in the hallways was animosity," White said of the situation before the fund-raising change. ''The football teams had letter jackets, big banquets, and trophies, while other teams didn't even get a pizza party. When kids walk the halls, they know that."
Another advantage to the change, White said, is that local businesses are approached by just one, rather than many, groups.
Plymouth sports teams still are allowed to do one fund-raising activity per year, but they must donate 10 percent of the money to the booster club.
Despite the advantages, a unified booster club won't work for many Needham donors for practical purposes, they say.
Mark Miskin, president of the Needham Soccer Club, said that in order to maintain its nonprofit status, the organization can only support soccer-related initiatives.
The soccer club has offered $6,000 to the high school for referees, preseason scrimmages, buses, and trophies.
''We could give to the Needham Boosters, but they would have to stipulate that it go to the soccer team," Miskin said.
The soccer club always seeks acknowledgement that their donations are soccer-related in the form of a receipt and letter.
Bob Susi, co-owner of Browen Flowers, said the shop has contributed centerpieces for athletic banquets.
But a unified booster club wouldn't ''make any difference" to him, and it wouldn't reduce the number of phone calls he gets asking for contributions.
''That wouldn't be advantageous," he said. ''We still get approached every day by churches, the Police Department, and the historical society."
And Louise Condon of Condon Realty said, ''It's better if each program is in charge of its own projects. One fund wouldn't satisfy the diverse interests of the youngsters and their parents."
Needham Athletics will continue to support its athletes by the $124 user fee, which last year accounted for $145,000.
And the user fees will continue to be the subject of much controversy, as they run counter to the notion of a free public education.
''There's just not enough money to do everything we want to do," said Gulati, the school finance chief.
