Whether it’s the snacks at the meeting or the bus for the field trip, funding for clubs may seem to some like a total mystery.
At LFHS, some clubs receive funding to operate and others do not. While this decision may seem unfair, Activities Director Mrs. Ashleigh Malec explained that the guidelines to which clubs receive funds are very specific.
“Every single organization, if there is a team entry fee, we’re paying that through my office,” said Mrs. Malec. “It’s hard to collect a fee from a student being like ‘you need to pay this to go to this competition’ versus, if we just pay for the team to participate, we know we’re gonna continually have a team.”
Along with ensuring that competitive clubs–the only clubs at LFHS that receive funding–can participate in these competitions, covering these costs eliminates a potential barrier for students who are interested in joining competitive clubs, according to Mrs. Malec.
Science Olympiad Co-Captain Matthew Kim is thankful that their competitive club is funded by the school, as they feel that it is a sign of support for them and allows them to compete against other schools.
“As a small school participating in Science Olympiad, it’s easy to feel intimidated when attending meets with larger, more populated high schools. Funding from LFHS ensures that we come into these competitions on an even playing field,” said Kim.
Moreover, funding provides them access to materials they need to compete in these competitions and could not obtain otherwise.
“The materials we use for our events directly impact our performance: if we don’t have them, we can’t compete in those events,” said Kim. “In addition, access to buses on meet days ensures a universal mode of transportation everyone can take to our competitions.”
While competitive clubs receive funding, all other clubs at LFHS are not given money from the school. This may seem shocking to some who believe that popular clubs such as Student Council receive money, but Mrs. Malec explained that this isn’t the case.
Instead, each class–for example, the 2026s–has a class account that is used to pay for activities pertaining to that specific grade. Since each grade’s student council hosts a lot of activities for their grade, a lot of money in those accounts are used by them.
“All the class accounts are for things [grade focused, like] the pop a shot contest, getting class t-shirts, or the Lightscapes tour. The junior class’ [account] is heaviest because of prom. For the seniors, all your senior breakfasts are covered,” said Mrs. Malec.
In addition, clubs such as Yearbook Club and Young Idea do not receive direct funding. Instead, the costs paid for Young Idea solely covers the cost of printing, and Yearbook club receives money from the portrait fees–when students take their yearbook photos–according to Mrs. Malec.
“We don’t get a fee, but what you pay to the company is what they give us basically as a check back for our business. It’s kind of like if you did a Chipotle fundraiser but then you make it school photos,” said Mrs. Malec.
All in all, clubs that do not compete in competitions do not receive funding directly from the school. German Club President Elizabeth Fahlbusch says she can understand the struggles that some club leaders face from this decision, but is aware that the school might not be able to fund all clubs.
“I can see [how not having funding] could be difficult for some clubs. Honestly, because I fund [German Club] myself, I really do try to think through the specific activities I do…It’s definitely a factor I have in mind when I’m planning my activities. It is difficult for the school to provide funding to all these clubs,” said Fahlbusch.
Chinese Club Co-President Laura Quan explains that her club rarely needs funding due to the nature of their activities, so she is okay with the school’s decision.
“Most of our activities that we’ve done so far are ones that don’t require that much funding. When we did origami with French Club, I brought some origami paper and our club sponsor also had some available,” said Quan. “We don’t have funding, but the majority of our activities don’t require significant amounts of money.”
Muslim Students Association (MSA) President Aiza Mirza, on the other hand, finds it a tad frustrating that she has to fund the club, suggesting that the school chipping in just a little would help her out.
“As president of MSA, I am expected to supply snacks and supplies for the club myself. These aren’t for the club, but rather for the people within the club,” said Mirza. “If the school provides even a small amount of funding for clubs for such resources, it would allow us to actually focus on funding for causes and events along with advancing our club instead of having to worry about resources.”
While there are mixed reactions to the decision of which clubs to fund, Mrs. Malec informs that all clubs have the opportunity to fundraise for themselves.
“As soon as an organization is established as a pilot organization, that’s when they have access to fundraise and they have an account,” said Mrs. Malec.
While a club’s main purpose is to provide a sense of community for students, as Mrs. Malec says, club leaders also have the responsibility to provide extra resources they want for their club that go beyond competition or bus fees. Those snack boxes don’t just simply appear themselves: they are planned out and provided.
