Every year, on Fourth of July weekend, James Logan Forensics competitors and alumni alike can be found in the parking lot of the Union City Walmart off Dyer Street working morning to night to raise money. They set up a booth each year to sell fireworks as an integral part of fundraising. The money raised helps fund the competitive Forensics season for the following school year.
“It costs almost up to $300,000 a year for any team to compete at the level we do,” says Justin Kurup, co-director of the James Logan Forensics team.
These costs are not going to waste, however. The Forensics team at Logan has a long and decorated history. In an activity dominated by wealthy schools, it is unheard of for a public school to reach such heights. To remain competitive, the team seeks to hire the best coaching it can while also saving enough money to travel across the country to attend tournaments. Throughout the year, the team will go as far as Chicago and Boston.
The forensics team is not alone when dealing with financial constraints. With 22 athletic teams and dozens of clubs, funding is almost entirely student-directed for many programs. Despite a lack of official funding, James Logan students continue to find success.
“We do a majority, if not all, of our fundraising because the band is not one of our school-funded programs here,” says senior band member Rigel De Souza. “As an individual, the first fall season—the first of two seasons—costs around $900-1000.”
Restaurant fundraisers, among a variety of others, are some examples of the types of ways students try to raise money for their goals and initiatives. Significant fundraising is necessary because of the costly nature of many of these student activities. These individual costs can often be a deterrent from participation in activities, but without substantial aid from the school, activities have little choice but to ask their members to make significant and often inhibiting contributions. Regardless, activities continue to try and find ways to reduce the blow.
According to De Souza, the band sells small material items to help and raise money to be competitive in season. These small acts by students may seem insignificant in the face of the price tag of their activity, but it’s emblematic of students’ drive and commitment to their respective passions.
ONe may ask, with so many activities affected, what solutions are there? An obvious challenge to the often-heard cries for the school to provide direct funding is the sheer amount of activities and clubs on campus. With the resources the school and district are allocated by the state, it is often questioned where the money goes. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, NHUSD spent $13,796,000 on student and staff support. Though all of these funds cannot be allocated to activities, it is fair to say that some are better than none. Despite award-winning and nationally ranked activities, funding is lackluster for the students of James Logan High School. An inhibiting factor in many of our student’s success and an issue that sees no change.
