Unlike the Red Sox, Anna Karski and other members of the HullBoosters Club Inc. can't afford to have a bad year.
That is because varsity sports at the high school are hanging inthe balance, always in danger of being cut if the money isn't raisedto keep them going.
Hull High boosters, area families, and other supporters are inthe fourth year of virtually self-funding the school's athleticprograms. After a property tax override failed in May 2009, theathletic budget of $240,000 for Hull High sports was reduced tozero. In May 2010, the town again voted down an override that wouldhave restored much of the school budget, and with it the athleticbudget.
The school budget now includes $40,000 for coaching salaries, butthe remaining funds needed to sustain the program -- about $220,000for this year, according to the athletic director, Jim Quatromoni --have to come from athletic fees charged to families or from moneythat is privately raised or donated.
The Pirates have managed to keep the lights on, thanks to a corpsof highly motivated volunteers and a policy of cutting expenseswherever possible, including some road games and nonleague contests.
Hull is hardly alone in needing to raise money to keep sportsprograms going. In the 46 public high school districts in the GlobeSouth coverage area, only seven do not impose athletic fees. In thepast two years, 11 districts have either instituted or increasedathletic fees, while three districts have decreased them. Inaddition, 19 districts impose non-sport activity fees, for suchthings as drama clubs, at high schools.
As communities struggle with tight budgets amid the economicdownturn and a continuing aversion to broad-based tax increases,several schools south of Boston are relying on dedicated boosterclubs of parents and fans.
In Abington, for example, the Green Wave Booster Club has raisedabout $75,000 in the last three years to help keep Abington High'ssubvarsity teams in business and assist in other areas of thebudget.
In Bridgewater, a group that was formed in 2004 to save sports atthe high school finances items that the district and sports budgetcannot afford.
Karski has been involved with the Hull boosters for six years,since her daughter Elena was in the eighth grade.
In Hull, the funds raised by boosters had long supplemented thebudget, buying jackets and other extras. But after May 2009, whenthe sports budget was slashed, they became vital to the programs.
'I can recall being devastated at first,' Karski said. 'Afterall, sports, drama, all the fun stuff, it's all part of high school.I couldn't imagine my kids not having that full experience.'
Elena went on be a captain in basketball and also played soccer.Son Calvin is a Hull High junior, playing basketball and soccer. 'Idon't know how many people other than Jim [Quatromoni] could havelasted this long doing this,' Karski said.
Over the past few years, she said, the core group of volunteershave fed off one another's energy.
'We didn't want to let each other down,' she said.
She said she has also been heartened by the outpouring ofsupport. 'The townspeople have been wonderful. They've donatedcruise boats for our midnight cruises; they wear the boosterstickers proudly on their vehicles. I wouldn't change any of theexperiences I've had.'
The sports boosters also try to help in areas outside of sports,such as renting a bus for a field trip or enrichment trip.
'It's such a small town, and we're all in this together,' Karskisaid.
She doesn't see the extensive fund-raising or user fees goingaway any time soon, but hopes there will be some light at the end ofthe tunnel.
'We just have to find ways that the entire burden doesn't fall onthis committee,' she said.
Quatromoni said the number of students requiring a waiver of feeshas increased in recent years. That, in turn, has exacerbated budgetproblems, leading to an effort that asks residents to sponsor thefees of student-athletes who cannot pay.
The story is much the same in Abington, where the Green WaveBoosters long supported Abington High athletics with the traditionaljackets, awards, and banquet. But when the town faced hard budgetchoices three years ago after a failed override and it seemedsubvarsity sports would be eliminated, they stepped up theirefforts.
'If we didn't get that money, I'd hate to even think about wherewe'd be,' said Abington High's athletic director, Steve Moore.
The booster club president, Chris Nagle, had two daughters gothrough Abington High and now has a son who is a junior. The groupruns such activities as going door-to-door each October, or hostinga Teamwork Trivia night and a comedy night in conjunction with youthfootball. Then there are the usual concession stands at AbingtonHigh athletic events.
'We're always looking for new members and new ideas,' said Nagle,who has been president for three years and involved in fund-raisingfor eight years. 'Our motto is, 'Keep them in cleats and off thestreets.' '
What keeps him and the rest of the boosters going is the supportfrom residents. 'The townspeople, the high school alumni, they comeout in droves to support our fund-raisers,' Nagle said. 'It neverceases to amaze me.'
Nagle said there is a core group of 15 to 18 volunteers. Theyfeel the pressure with the schools and student-athletes counting onthe money, and he wonders what would happen if they had a bad year.
The town and the schools need to find another way to pay forsubvarsity sports on a more permanent basis, he said. 'Sooner orlater, this [money] has to be in the budget,' said Nagle. 'I don'tthink anyone involved in the schools wants us to feel that kind ofpressure.'
The Friends of Bridgewater-Raynham Athletics was born during the2004 budget crisis that threatened the existence of the athleticprogram. Since then, it has morphed into a group that funds capitalprojects or items that the school or town budgets cannot afford.
In recent years, that includes a $35,000 resurfacing of the highschool track, new scoreboards for the soccer field and the fieldhockey/softball complex, and the sweeper arm that, attached to atractor, grooms the artificial turf field.
'Generally speaking, we're going to do something that lasts morethan a year, said Friends president Paige Heath. 'We leave theuniforms to the schools and the teams.'
The group raises about $28,000 a year through businesssponsorships, and generates thousands more by staffing concessionstands and the annual 'Mr. B-R' pageant, which features male seniorsin formal wear showing off their talents and answering beautypageant-style questions.
'They've been a godsend,' said Bridgewater-Raynham's athleticdirector, Dan Buron, of the Friends.
'They've allowed us to keep our heads above the water and me tofocus on the core of the program,' he said.
In Weymouth, school sports for the past five years were largelyfunded by user fees, gate admissions, fund-raisers, donations, andadvertisements by town businesses. In one year, the school budgetallocated $100,000 for athletics, but in other years the program wasdependent on user fees and other outside sources of income.
This year, fund-raisers got some relief when the School Committeeprovided $300,000 for the sports budget, leaving just a $100,000gap.
'I think for the last five years, we've run a streamlined andsuper-efficient program, and that's allowed us to overcome financialchallenges,' said athletic director Kevin Mackin.
Mackin praised members of the booster club for their hard workand the support from businesses in town, and said the budget wouldallow everyone to 'take a breath.'
Karski of Hull, and Abington's Nagle said they believe they arenot being taken for granted and that students appreciate the workthat goes into raising the money.
When students and parents convene to register for fall sports,Karsi said, they are reminded that there would be no sports withoutthe fund-raising.
'We make sure the kids are a part of this effort and haveownership in it in some way,' she said.
'At the annual banquet, we ask kids who played subvarsity sportsthat year to stand up,' said Nagle. 'We say to the parents, 'Yoursons and daughters wouldn't be playing sports if it weren't for thepeople in this room.' I think they understand that.'
Rich Fahey can be reached at fahey.rich2@gmail.com.
