[jimwick]

This may not be applicable, but we have a somewhat similar situation. We are "regional team" taking kids from seven or eight different schools plus some home-schoolers.

In this case we are basically independent of the schools. One school is our official sponsor, but even they are pretty hands-off. We have a workspace that is independent of any school. We raise money independently, although two schools contribute small dollars. We control our own budget. We do not need to involve school faculty, although some faculty have served as mentors. We have occasionally conducted classes at one of the schools at their request. We do not have a mascot, team colors, etc. that relate to any school.

Of course, there is a downside. We have to work only on the weekends since the kids don't have the same school schedules. Attendance and consistency are huge problems. We don't get the synergy between the school work and the team. Still we have done pretty well - final four or final eight in most recent years at the Granite State Regional.