By Dana Hess
For the S.D. Newspaper Association
PIERRE — A bookkeeping change designed to make life easier for school business managers may also help the South Dakota High School Activities Association in its dealings with the Legislature.
At its June 10 meeting, the SDSAA board of directors approved a plan to discontinue charging schools dues and fees. At the same time, it would cut out team expense reimbursements to schools that take part in state tournaments.
SDHSAA Executive Director Dan Swartos explained that schools have to account for the dues and fees as an expense in their budget, but they never know if they are going to get any reimbursements since they can’t predict which, if any, of their teams will go to a state tournament.
“It’s not very equitable,” Swartos said. “It’s not very predictable.”
Swartos said he took the plan to meetings of school business managers and superintendents. According to Swartos, their response was “Yes, do this. This is much more simple.”
In the past, state lawmakers have suggests that the Legislature should have more of a say in the association’s business since schools were paying their fees and dues with tax dollars.
“We can go in there with a straight face and say we don’t get any tax dollars,” Swartos said.
The board also approved a plan to direct money it earns from its T-shirt supplier to districts to offset the expenses incurred by schools that host state events. The association’s contract with Fine Designs calls for it to be paid $75,000 annually for the company’s ability to sell T-shirts at state events. Swartos said that in the past, schools handled the sales themselves and all together earned about $15,000.
The sports with the biggest disbursements from the T-shirt payment were cross-country, wrestling and track and field, Swartos said, because those events take the most preparation.
The host school for the state cross-country meet will receive an additional $15,000 to go along with the original $3,000 payment from the association. Swartos said one athletic director whose school hosted a state cross-country meet said it cost the school $3,000 just for port-a-potties along the course.
The wrestling host school originally got $11,000 from the association and will now get an additional $13,500. Swartos said one host school had to spend the entire $11,000 on the hospitality room, absorbing the other expenses that go with putting on a wrestling tournament.
Swartos said funds will be sent to host school this June.
“This is making a big dent in all of these” expenses, Swartos said.
