The Edina Athletic Booster Club (EABC) donated $70,000 to Edina High School’s athletics department for basic equipment and other team needs. The donation, which will serve as a supplement to the 2018-2019 school year athletics budget, was approved and finalized in early September by Activities Director Troy Stein in collaboration with the Student Activities Advisory Council (SAAC).

Such a large donation was brought about by a decrease in athletics funding for the 2018-2019 school year. After last year’s district-wide budget reduction process, the EHS athletics department was asked to cap spending at a target $117,000– meaning they would have to cut $87,911 according to the 2018-2019 Reductions and Revenue Plan.

“We used the Student Activities Advisory Council to help guide us with where to make those cuts and/or increase revenue. A part of those cuts were $71,000 from basic athletic supply needs,” Stein said. “At that time, I requested from the Edina Athletic Booster Club if they could support EHS athletics by supplementing those funds for this school year.”

The Boosters agreed to donate $70,000 towards the athletics department, which means the program will be able to extend its spending to about $187,000. Stein confirmed that the donation will be put to use “right away,” adding that “without these funds, the basic needs [of each sport] would be passed along to sport-specific boosters to fund each program. With the support of the EABC we do not have to push that fundraising onto our students and families.”