Letter: High School Athletic Fees FY15

My name is Jennifer Copley Downing and I am writing to you as the incoming president of the Nipmuc Warriors Booster Club.

The Warriors Booster Club coordinates fundraising for all varsity sports booster clubs at Nipmuc High School. We conduct fund-raising to support athletic needs not funded by the school budget as well as sponsoring the senior athletic banquet.  We also provide plaques for championships teams and this year continues to be a stellar one!

I am writing to you regarding the impact of the override vote on athletics in the Mendon-Upton Regional School system.

Here are some facts based on the attached FY15 User Fee/Funding chart:

• Nipmuc is 9^th out of 10 in funding their athletics

• Nipmuc has the highest user fees

• The override passage would add $90,000 to our athletic budget for a total of $277,000 putting us 7^th out of 10 in funding.

• Athletic user fees would drop to $175 per sport

Poor financial support for athletics affects school pride and spirit. It’s hard to have school pride wearing worn-out uniforms. It’s hard to maintain school spirit when our students do not have a home football or track field. It’s discouraging to play on poorly maintained sports fields. It’s disappointing to lose student athletes to other schools that offer better financial support for athletics.

$90,000 is less than 1% of the school budget.  It’s not a lot of money but it will get us back to a more respectable level of support for high school athletics.

I hesitated to write this letter, especially as an introduction to all of you. However, when I researched the data comparing our funding to funding in surrounding communities, I had to speak out.  These numbers makes me angry.  I want more for our athletes at Nipmuc.  Athletic programs can have a profound impact on student development, teamwork, cooperation, communication, resiliency, leadership, determination, grit, focus and drive. Athletics do impact much more than a child’s physical development.  Douglas can no longer fund their high school athletics.  Let’s not let it get to that point.

Please ask your members to support the override. You may get some heat for it.  Some may want to separate the politics from sports. Funding our sports programs should not be a political tug of war.

I challenge you to discuss publicly endorsing the override with your boards. Do not underestimate the power of your voice. At the very least come out with a personal endorsement of the override and ask others to do the same.

The Nipmuc Warriors Booster Club Board unanimously endorses this override.

Thank you MUYSA Board for endorsing a YES vote on June 30^th!

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or feedback.

Respectfully,

Jennifer Copley Downing

Nipmuc Warriors Booster Club President