creekland Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Why is it that when our ps had the boys volleyball team qualify for the state championships a few years back that they got to go within the school budget, but now that my boys chess team has qualified to go it looks like we will have to pay ourselves? Chess costs the school very little compared to the other sports for the regular season. It seems like they could splurge on the state championships. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 That stinks. Talk about a competitive sport! My gosh. If your kids have a chess.com acct and play there, pm me so our kids can be "friends". :) It's funny that you posted this right now because dh is on his way back with the dc from a tournament right now :). (and, if I may brag...major alert coming...the only homeschoolers there took 1st and 2nd place :D) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Clubs and sports are treated differently at most schools. My son has fees to pay everytime his Model UN club participates in a MUN competition. This year my district started requiring students to pay a fee to be on teams ($100/team), before this year it was cheaper to play football than be in a club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 That is the way it is in our local school district. All travel expenses for sports teams are paid for through the sports budget which has never seen a cut or even a freeze in the last 30 years though academic programs have been cut and classroom sizes have increased! So, the debate team, the chess team, the math team and the music groups all have to fundraise and pay their own way. I will never understand it. The funny thing was that when I taught at the private Lutheran school, there was no cost to be in band or choir, even band instruments were provided through generous donations from church members, all expenses for travel were covered, etc. The chess team could also travel on budgeted funds. The sports teams had no budget. Parents paid fees for sports participation, uniforms had to be paid for, and parents/fundraisers paid all of the costs involved in having sports, i.e. equipment, officials for games, etc. The school's administrators were of the opinion that music and art are academic disciplines as well as chess and therefore are extensions of the academic program, but sports was not. They did not buy into the sports is P.E. thing either because P.E. was offered three days per week plus lots and lots of physical activity during their generous recess periods. Just a completely different outlook. It is frustrating sometimes to see sports emphasized in our area to the exclusion of all else. The school can barely fill one quarter of the gymnasium bleechers for a band concernt, yet those same bleechers are standing room only for a basketball game. Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZooRho Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 It is frustrating sometimes to see sports emphasized in our area to the exclusion of all else. The school can barely fill one quarter of the gymnasium bleechers for a band concernt, yet those same bleechers are standing room only for a basketball game. Faith There is your answer becuase most sports bring in some money for the school system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 That stinks. Talk about a competitive sport! My gosh. If your kids have a chess.com acct and play there, pm me so our kids can be "friends". :) It's funny that you posted this right now because dh is on his way back with the dc from a tournament right now :). (and, if I may brag...major alert coming...the only homeschoolers there took 1st and 2nd place :D) Sent you a pm. Congrats on the win(s)! Our year end tournament is next weekend, then, if they get to go to the state competition that they qualified for, it will be the weekend after that. They also still have one match to play on Tuesday, but win or lose they are still the regional champs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 Clubs and sports are treated differently at most schools. My son has fees to pay everytime his Model UN club participates in a MUN competition. This year my district started requiring students to pay a fee to be on teams ($100/team), before this year it was cheaper to play football than be in a club. This is a chess team that students can letter in the same way they can for track and other sports. The school has a chess club too, but homeschoolers can't join that since it meets during the school day. The club also doesn't compete outside the school. The team does. We'll find out tomorrow or Tuesday if they are going to require the parents to pay if they go to the state tournament. If so, our team likely won't go as many parents are hurt by the economy and won't have the extra to spend. Since it's a team thing, it's no good if the whole team can't go. It's the first time our school has won the regional competition since the mid 1980's. It'd be nice if the kids can go - and I'm not just saying that because I have two on the team... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 DH is a high school math teacher and coaches the chess and math teams, so I definitely know what you mean. From his side of things, if he coached a sports team or helped out with band, he'd get a nice stipend, but as it is he comes in early twice a week and gives up Saturdays several times a year with no compensation. And then doesn't get any respect for it from the principal (a former wrestling coach), who occasionally makes comments to him about how he knows he has plenty of time for this or that because he doesn't coach a sport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Congratulations on the chess -- I hope you all get to go, Is your town small enough that calling or emailing school board members might help? It sounds as thought your chess team could bring a lot of positive recognition to the school. Keeping my finger crossed for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 They charge for sports at our ps, but not clubs. All groups must fund raise for travel, unless it's in town. Then there is no cost for the school bus. The school does pay registration for minor local events. Every school district in the US is it's own island and makes up it's own rules. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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