Every fall, students gather in the Horseshoe to sign up for clubs. Students at Monte Vista become involved in the Mustang community by participating in activities such as sports, fine arts, and clubs.
For the 2024 to 2025 school year, there are 151 clubs to join. While Monte Vista approves these clubs, it is entirely up to the individual officers to fund them. As an incentive to attend meetings, some clubs will offer candy, pizza, or sweet treats. While this method is often effective, it can prove costly especially for a brand new club. Moreover, these finances fall solely on the student officers. This situation has sparked a discussion among students, raising the question: should student clubs receive school funding?
A primary concern is how funding would be allocating funding equally. To provide insight on this topic, Shaamak Goyal, President of Monte Vista’s Math Club shared his perspective. Goyal explained why student clubs should not receive funding due to potential complications.
“Funding has to be equal throughout all clubs, which is unfair because there are some clubs that are for fun. [Do these clubs] need funding in the same way that the math club needs to buy AMC (American Mathematics Competitions) tests or the Biology club needs funds to take the Biology Olympiad,” Goyal said.
Goyal explains that distributing funding to all clubs may appear unjust. Moreover, the funding available for each club would be limited due to Monte Vista offering 151 student organizations. Based on a variety of factors including maturity of the club, funding from academic departments, and donations from external sources, some clubs may express a need stronger than others.
The Administration of Monte Vista does not have complete control over the funding they receive. Assistant Principal Angie Corritone elaborated on her perspective as a faculty member.
“There are limitations to what school money can be spent on. For example, we might be given money from the district that has to be spent on staff. We might be getting money from the state. Let’s say that might be limited to specific art materials,” Corritone said.
In her interview, Corritone explained that the funding Monte Vista receives has already been allocated for. Furthermore, parents and guardians are able to contribute to various programs during registration. However, this money must be directly given to departments intended such as a computer fund.
Additionally, an important aspect to the club experience is fundraising itself. The skills gained from community building, budgeting, and collaboration are ones that would not be learned if funding was directly given to each club. Thus, navigating funding contributes to a clubs overall success.
Overall student clubs should continue to be independently funded. This approach allows students to learn the various aspects involved in fundraising, money management, and allocating funds. These lessons contribute to a successful and sustainable club.
