[Mr V]

There really is no cut and dried answer to this question. Fact is school district policies vary greatly.

For example I know one school where the students are required to travel on the district provided bus and there is no cost to the team or students, in another case the students are required to travel on the school bus and the school takes money out of the team's account to cover the cost and then some.

I know some schools that will automatically pay that CMP or DCMP registration fee because the team earned the right to attend.

Some states have grants available to teams that are affiliated with a public school.

Some schools require that all purchases get approved which can be a several day process, others allow the teacher to submit a PO or check out a school credit card and purchase at will within their budget. Some schools will float the team when they have run out of money. Some schools will charge a fee for handling that money either from grants or that the team has raised.

Some school districts will actively solicit donations on behalf of the team.

Some schools will purchase tools and equipment to be used by the team and in the classroom.

Some schools are very proud of their robotics program, will do things like announce the results of the team's competition in their newsletters, website ect, while others completely ignore it.

So it all depends on the school and school district you are comparing it to.