Whether it’s a marathon concert for a trip to San Francisco, selling wrapping paper for the PTA or selling business discount cards for football equipment, clubs and organizations in the Lawrence school district are finding new methods to raise money to compensate for budget cuts.

From noon to 10 p.m. Sunday, the Lawrence High School Orchestra had a marathon concert at the high school’s auditorium. Each orchestra student was told to ask people for individual pledges in hopes of generating $850 to cover the costs of a trip to San Francisco. The orchestra is scheduled to perform in March at St. Mary’s Cathedral at an exchange performance with a San Francisco high school orchestra and attend a clinic with a professor from Stanford University.

“What I like about this event is that 100 percent of the money raised goes to the kids, and they are doing what they do best (make music) while raising the funds,” said Rachel Dirks, director of the school’s orchestra. “Fund-raisers are very important to the success of music programs. In order to fund any activity outside of the normal school day, we are required to find the funds necessary outside of the district’s budget.

“Everything from entrance fees for competitions, festivals to trips to San Francisco must be funded by the students or raised through the support of the community. These same activities are what help create successful programs.”

The marathon concert is one of many ongoing fund-raisers in the school district. Remembering the days of bake sales and car washes early in his career, Supt. Randy Weseman has noticed an upsurge in fund-raisers in recent years. He wants to develop a plan to monitor district fund-raisers.

“They’ve grown exponentially,” said Weseman, a district employee for 27 years. “I don’t have exact numbers, but I’ve seen a proliferation of fund-raising activities, particularly when money is tight. Last year I put a moratorium on any new fund-raisers. Any time anybody has a new fund-raising idea, they have to get permission from me so I can keep a handle on it. I want to get a number of how many there are. The depth of it is unknown to me. I’ll be collating the number of fund-raising activities … who does them and where does the money go and what is it used for.”

Avoiding overkill

With an abundance of fund-raisers in schools, Weseman believes students and supporters of district activities could be overwhelmed.

“I don’t want kids spending all their time out fund raising,” Weseman said. “I’d rather have them engaged in academic pursuits. At some point, the clubs should be contributing to the overall well-being and health of the kids. If they’re going out, holding three fund-raisers a year to put money in an account so they can have a party at the end of the year doesn’t make any sense.

School fund-raisers, such as a bake sale, keep students on the move trying to support their programs. Supt. Randy Weseman says fund-raisers have grown

“I’m not sure I want a great deal of energy being invested from our kids to go raise money. There are times it’s appropriate, and that’s what I’m trying to sort through. Families and people are pretty busy these days. I know parents get worn out with being involved in fund-raising activities and being asked to buy things. There’s got to be a balance.”

Free State junior Caitlin Donnelly, a member of Free State’s orchestra, is selective in the fund-raisers she participates in.

“You have to distribute the stuff afterwards yourself,” said Donnelly, whose orchestra is having a candle sale and confections sale to raise money. “It’s a bigger time commitment than you would think. Sometimes it’s not worth it. Other times it can really be beneficial, especially if you need help with road trips.

“Usually the teachers have done it for so long that they do the same ones every year. There’s not very much room to exchange ideas. Maybe there should be more ideas. A lot of the people you try to sell stuff to are kids our age.”

Need for fund-raisers

Principals at the city’s high schools said fund-raisers were necessary when state funds were dwindling.

“There’s been an increase in fund-raisers because funding of the school hasn’t increased at the rate of inflation and the rate of costs,” Free State Principal Joe Snyder said. “When you want to have good programs, it takes resources. We’ve really had no increase in resources except for fund raising.”

Steve Nilhas, in his first year as LHS principal, said an increase in fund-raisers was not limited to Lawrence. He previously was superintendent of the Hill City school district in northwest Kansas.

“All over the place, schools are looking for ways to raise funds,” Nilhas said. “It’s another way to pay the bills. None of us like to see programs cut. When we’re not getting the funding we used to get, something has to give.”

Nilhas said students could learn lessons while raising money to support their programs.

“Hopefully, they’ll enjoy meeting and greeting the public in an appropriate way,” Nilhas said. “I think businesses are inundated, so kids can’t take it personally when they’re turned down. That’s one of life’s little lessons. I think it’s good for them to learn. Sometimes we’re disappointed we don’t get things we need. That’s part of growing up.”