The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Local News

February 7, 2010

Schools seek help shouldering travel costs

East, West request up to $5,000 each from the High School League Foundation

By Tanner Kent The Free Press

MANKATO — In these lean budget times, every little bit helps.

And Mankato East and West high schools are looking for a little help from the Minnesota State High School League Foundation in covering the costs of team transportation.

“It’s getting expensive to travel,” said Todd Waterbury, East’s activities director.

Case in point:

Winona is a Big Nine Conference opponent on virtually all of Mankato’s athletic team’s schedules at some point in the season. And while Waterbury said not all teams travel to Winona during the season — football, for instance, travels every two years while other sports such as wrestling and track and field have meets with several teams — the cost of a single 300-mile round trip is about $600.

With more than 50 girls and boys athletic teams offered at East and West, as well as several academic teams, the costs of keeping just one conference opponent on the schedule can add up quickly.

Hypothetically speaking, if only 20 East and West athletic teams traveled to Winona, the cumulative cost would be $12,000 — which would amount to roughly 5 percent of East and West’s combined travel budget of $232,000 for boys and girls sports.

To complicate matters, the travel budgets at East and West have been frozen since last year — in lieu of their typical 3 percent increase.

To help offset those costs, both high schools have submitted grant requests to the High School League Foundation. Waterbury said East and West should know by March if they have qualified for grants of up to $5,000 apiece.

“It would help keep schools on our schedules,” Waterbury said. “We try to be conscious of what we’re doing and where we’re going, but still provide the best opportunities for students to compete and succeed.”

At the state level, High School League officials are aware of the budget problems facing school activity departments.

Last year, the league’s board of directors considered a number of measures to help reduce expenditures for schools. The board ultimately decided to enact some restrictions on out-of-state travel and to limit the number of preseason scrimmages and jamborees.

Craig Perry, an associate director with the league, said no action was taken last year to reduce the number of contests for certain sports, but it has become a topic of “casual conversation” this year.

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