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We want to hear from you. We have activated our beta comment board system while we are testing it. Please comment on the story and share your thoughts.OREM — Timpview High boasts arguably the most active booster club in the state. Members do more than lend support. They pull out their checkbooks — producing what some see as an inequality with other high schools.
In the past few years, Timpview boosters have covered the costs of a variety of projects, including a turf field, football athletic building, press box updating and stadium landscaping. In addition, Provo City Board of Education recently approved the groundbreaking of a 6,200-square-foot weight room with new equipment, completely paid with a confirmed $650,000 from the boosters.
The amount of funds that Timpview’s boosters contribute is far from ordinary, and other schools around the state tend to not pull in as much, according to Provo School District’s business administrator Kerry Smith.
Sometimes people go out and collect funds and put in an account they open for it, or put it in a personal account and we are not even aware that they are raising the funds.
–Kerry Smith
These large donations to a single school produce an inequality with other schools, high school supporters believe. “Usually I’d say [a typical booster club is] lucky to get $10,000 or $20,000 a year for the school,” Smith said.
The concern over donations is about to be addressed. Currently anyone living in the Provo School District can open a personal account, raise funds in the high school or district’s name and deposit or allocate monies to the school or team as the individual pleases without responsibility for financial records.
Smith is working to solve this. He plans to present a policy to the Provo City Board of Education in April that will make clear how booster club funds are to be distributed.
“Sometimes people go out and collect funds and put in an account they open for it, or put it in a personal account and we are not even aware that they are raising the funds, so [the policy] kind of tightens it up,” Smith said. “You need board approval before you can go out and raise funds. All funds are to go through either the school, the district or the foundation. We are just trying to establish some checks and balances.”
The policy would also require booster clubs to have financial reports that would be public documents. With no policy in place, the public is unable to see where the donated money is allocated.
JT McGraw, the sophomore football coach at Provo High is excited about the new policy. “There is always going to be a rivalry, and as much as we’d like to say it’s just high school football, there are some people who are very, very passionate about it who want the best facilities for their team and for their school,” McGraw said. “Unfortunately, facilities do play a factor when a kid decides which school he wants to go to.”
Some people don't understand why we have concerns. Well it's district property. The district has planning and other responsibilities. So even if (money) is donated, we can't have people just erecting structures....
–Kerry Smith
With the new policy, the district will be able make decisions on how to allocate funds and provide fair resources to each school.
“The biggest problem is they will start a project and we don’t know anything about it,” Smith of the district said. “Some people don’t understand why we have concerns. Well it’s district property. The district has planning and other responsibilities. So even if it is donated, we can’t have people just erecting structures or doing things."
Smith added, “We have had problems where somebody goes to build a structure and we don’t even know what is going on until we see it and we say, ‘Where is the architectural drawings on this? Will this even hold all the weight of the people?’” In the past formal approval wasn't received and projects had to be shut down, creating tension and frustration, according to the administrator.
“I feel that you have a small number of people controlling the action of the board because they say they are willing to donate funds,” Smith said.
Timpview coach Louis Wong explained he is in favor of the policy and supports all of the district's decisions.
The policy is set for a reading by the Provo Library Board April 26, with a vote May 10.
We want to hear from you. We have activated our beta comment board system while we are testing it. Please comment on the story and share your thoughts.
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Natalie Barrett is a journalist and mother of one living in Provo.
