Community Spirit

My co-president and I met with our high school principal yesterday to iron out a couple of issues we have been handed.   The first dealt with a brand new student council--with terrific, grandiose, and excellent ideas--as well as their brand new, over-stretched adviser and the learning curve of getting these events calendared appropriately.  These kind of things always work themselves out, and the Administration was on it, so we just reiterated what the principal already knew and was already working on.

The second had to do with a new-to-us football coach and his different system of doing things and the bad feelings that those changes have created.  For example, our PTA has always sold t-shirt and sweats, etc at the home football games.  We didn't sell as much as we let people see and know what we had and then draw them in to the school store during the school day.  Sure we sold some each game--particularly to the city's old-timers who each year buy a new shirt to wear to homecoming and the other games to support or local kids.

The change came in the new coach being given exclusive right to sell at games--not just apparel but programs and concessions as well.  This change took a revenue system away from clubs or other groups in the school who have "always" done it for their own fund raiser (i.e., the FFA who sold concessions).  The problem here is that the new change wasn't communicated to these groups in time for them to come up with another plan for fundraising.

The PTA still has the school store which we staff and where we sell school spirit items Tuesday thru Friday at lunch throughout the year.  The other groups weren't so lucky.

So at our meeting with the principal, we gave our ground about selling at the game to football in an effort to "make nice" and to encourage a new feeling of inclusivity for a hopeful change.  It was well received, but I'm not sure how success we will be.  But as a presidency, we see this as the issue for our year to solve.  We have much peace to make and rough edges to smooth over.  I just hope we can do enough in time to set the school back on a level field for everyone.  Or at least, do what we can to help each faction feel part of the greater whole.