[David Brinza]

Originally Posted by Cory

Yes. But that price is absorbed by the school. Nearly every (is there any high school without a football team?) school has a football team. The students don't have to come up with the money themselves. The football team will exist every year, regardless of how little money a school district has, because something else like FIRST will get cut before the budget for sports does. I can't think of any student/parent/mentor fundraised activities that are as expensive as FIRST.

Doesn't this come down to the priorities of the school and school district?

As much as I might enjoy football, I don't think of it as a necessary activity that has a positive impact on society and our future. Yet, sports programs often thrive in schools where computer access for students is limited, laboratory equipment is archaic, arts and music departments face budget cuts. That's just wrong!

When doing Dean's homework, we need to clearly describe this situation in writing to our government officials. If FIRST becomes "curriculum" where the costs are borne through district budgets (derived from the tax base), then FIRST teams won't have to struggle to do so much fund-raising or rely on fickle corporate sponsors in order to survive. I think doing some fund-raising and selling the FIRST program to sponsors is in itself a valuable, educational activity, but it shouldn't become an overwhelming, all-consuming ordeal.

While we're at it, students should look at their own spending habits: extravagant proms, expensive clothing/shoes, latest video/computer games, etc. before criticizing the cost of FIRST participation. Do the "cost-benefit" analysis and decide what the best use of your dollars is in the long run. Don't you get more out of a trip to Atlanta than a night in a limo, tux and fancy dinner?

Priorities...it's in Dean's message.