Thanks for the support and feedback - it really means a lot. I'll try to answer what people have asked so far.
So, the big picture is that there are younger kids lined up to bring a constant stream of enthusiastic FIRSTers into this FRC program over the next few years. (current FLLers and middle-school FTCers). This is the first year we've graduated younger kids from the program I've been involved with for years into FRC (they started FIRST in 4th-5th grade and are finally moving to high school). The future, from that perspective, is bright.
The school administration sees this, and wants those kids at their school. So this year, they have made the investment to ensure we have the resources available that we need. I mentioned that budget isn't an issue - I guess what I should have said is that a basic budget isn't the issue. Funds aren't unlimited, but enough for us to do what we need to do to build a robot and attend one event. We are working on a real business plan, as well as pulling in more mentors with the expertise we need and time to give (I am a non-engineering mentor, aside from programming). Coach is excited about this part, and has contributed there in some ways.
On the safety and room organization issues - I can talk about it until I am blue in the face, but many of the kids take the lead of the coach and just leave stuff out. I nearly stepped on a roboRio one day. Others take my lead. It's about a 50/50 split.
The younger core of kids - the freshman, who do have a strong work ethic - are frustrated by all this, too. They are also lowest on the social pecking order, but I think they are earning the respect of some of the older kids because they know more than the kids who have been around a few years (having done FTC/FLL at a high level).
Grades for their class are things like a quiz on the rules, which they can retake if they fail. It's not much of a class. I will pass along those suggestions for tutorials.
Late in the season, I was able to get a couple of other potential mentors to show up and help with some things, as well as running our design by a couple of other FRC mentors who were able to give us feedback on if what we were trying to build was stupid or not.
I am hoping that I can get some of them to keep coming back.
What I am afraid of is that the new kids will get frustrated (they already are), the new recruits will hear about the bad experience and not join, sponsors will wonder why the robot doesn't work, and the whole thing will fall apart.
I'll keep my happy-cheery face on for the kids. They are mostly enjoying it. The ones who have been around are proud of their robot and the newbies are learning about FRC, even though it isn't the same quality of experience they've had in the past. I think we can turn this thing around, but then there are days when it seems like a losing battle, so I really appreciate the support.