# Question for non-americans - school/activity specials financing? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 19, 2017, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-school-activity-specials-financing/796758 "2017-09-19T19:59:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Septima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Septima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Septima)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-school-activity-specials-financing/796758/21 "2017-09-21T13:17:58Z")
Same as for Norway and the Netherlands. “Extracurriculars” are simply not a thing organized by schools, and school must be 100% free for everyone (except that you are expected to provide your own basic school supplies, i.e. pencils, lined workbooks etc. School books are provided by the school untill grade 10, you must buy your own for high school). The students are free to organize their own social events, sports practice etc. but actual sports are done through clubs and teams that have nothing to do with school. Individual teachers sometimes take it upon themselves to run vaguely academic after-school activities on school grounds - there was a classic movie club and a book club at one point, for example. There is also a choir at my school, which is typical. I believe there is also a student run bible study group - I don’t know much about them, exept they sometimes bring cookies for everyone, which is nice. The high school I work at puts up a musical every other year - it’s financed partly through the school budget, partly from a cultural grant from the city, and is expected to make most of it back in ticket sales (usually, it does). ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-school-activity-specials-financing/796758/22 "2017-09-21T14:33:07Z")
In all the schools I’ve worked at, it’s gone something like this: The school budget has money to hire a director (part-time after-school staff position), and a lesser amount of money for a music director, and maybe a technical director or choreographer. There is also a program budget (part of the school budget), which the director has control over. Rights, promotions, sets, costumes, makeup, any equipment rental, hired musicians or other staff, equipment upgrades, etc etc, all come out of this budget. The director will also seek outside funding/in-kind donations/sponsorship in exchange for ads in the program and that sort of thing. The money from sponsorships and ticket sales goes directly to the program, and can be saved year after year; so, a program can, if it’s managed well, develop a nice discretionary fund they can draw on to put on a particularly expensive show, invest in equipment, or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-school-activity-specials-financing/796758/23 "2017-09-21T19:58:08Z")
Side note - here in our area we have [Kansas School for the Deaf](http://www.ksdeaf.org/). One problem for them is in sports they mostly play other deaf schools which means VERY long distance trips to say Colorado or Minnesota. Now what is interesting, they have sports and specials and such but its required by law that they can NOT charge the kids nor do they have fundraisers. One woman told me the only thing she paid in all her years was her own athletic shoes for volleyball and the senior class held fundraisers in order to have a senior trip. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-school-activity-specials-financing/796758/24 "2017-09-21T20:09:13Z")
> [@Septima](#): > > Same as for Norway and the Netherlands. “Extracurriculars” are simply not a thing organized by schools, and school must be 100% free for everyone (except that you are expected to provide your own basic school supplies, i.e. pencils, lined workbooks etc. School books are provided by the school untill grade 10, you must buy your own for high school). > > The students are free to organize their own social events, sports practice etc. but actual sports are done through clubs and teams that have nothing to do with school. Individual teachers sometimes take it upon themselves to run vaguely academic after-school activities on school grounds - there was a classic movie club and a book club at one point, for example. There is also a choir at my school, which is typical. I believe there is also a student run bible study group - I don’t know much about them, exept they sometimes bring cookies for everyone, which is nice. > > The high school I work at puts up a musical every other year - it’s financed partly through the school budget, partly from a cultural grant from the city, and is expected to make most of it back in ticket sales (usually, it does). Just wanted to show you what a typical American school has, here is a [link](http://smeast.smsd.org/Documents/School%20Clubs%20website%2016-17.pdf) to a local school here in a suburb of Kansas City showing all their student clubs. As you can see they have clubs for everything from learning Chinese culture to gay/straight alliance to bible studies to robotics to making soap. More link: [Theater boosters [URL=“[https://www.smesports.org/](https://www.smesports.org/)”]All Sports boosters In case your wondering what sports are offered, [URL=“[http://smeast.smsd.org/Pages/Fall-Sports.aspx](http://smeast.smsd.org/Pages/Fall-Sports.aspx)”]here is just the fall sports.]([http://www.smetheatreboosters.org/](http://www.smetheatreboosters.org/)) ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-school-activity-specials-financing/796758/25 "2017-09-21T20:11:57Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > I find this figure (20-250 pounds) astounding. Here in Texas, band and football are king and it costs a fortune to play. Parents routinely pony up thousands per child to participate each year. When my kids were in band it was $2000 per kid, and $3000 for drumline. This was in addition to instruments, retreats/team-building for officers, and trips (kids went to Europe one year). Since we had both drum captain and band president in our house, it was quite costly for us. > > I just checked with mizPullin, and she says its now $2500 and $3500 for drumline (kids graduated a few years ago and I’m out of the loop, thankfully). And what out non-American friends should note - in Europe and elsewhere they don’t (or rarely) do marching band at all. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-school-activity-specials-financing/796758/26 "2017-09-21T21:42:16Z")
Sadly we don’t have cheerleaders either. ---
**Author:** ![Norse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Norse)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-school-activity-specials-financing/796758/27 "2017-09-22T04:48:26Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > And what out non-American friends should note - in Europe and elsewhere they don’t (or rarely) do marching band at all. We don’t? Huh. That’s news to me. [https://www.google.no/search?q=skolekorps&prmd=ivn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X](https://www.google.no/search?q=skolekorps&prmd=ivn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X) Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-school-activity-specials-financing/796758.md?page=1)