Victor Villa is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Highland High School for AZPreps365.com

A volleyball that once cost Highland High School $40 now costs as much as $90, a consequence of how inflation has affected the school’s athletic programs.

Highland’s girls volleyball program used district funding for necessities while its booster club raised roughly about $25,000 annually for additional expenses, including tournaments, team gear and activities. 

Athletic director Brandon Larson said the athletic department received district funding for basic equipment such as volleyballs and nets. It also relies on ticket sales from events and games, which have become part of the department’s overall budget.

Rather than dividing that money equally among teams, Larson said he used it to address the needs of each program

“No team will ‘receive’ money from that,” Larson said. “That essentially becomes my budget and then they make requests for purchases based on what they need.”

The district also charges a $125 athletic fee per sport. Larson said those fees cover expenses such as transportation.

Once basic needs were covered, additional requests were evaluated across the department. Larson said volleyball generally requires fewer necessities than football or baseball, leaving additional expenses to the booster club.

“When you start getting into the wants – the cool swag, the warmups, the travel – that all falls onto the booster clubs,” Larson said.

For volleyball, the booster club became a major source of funding. Staci Cutchen, the club’s president, said the parent-run organization raised money primarily through Snap! Raise, business sponsorships and smaller fundraisers.

Snap! Raise allowed players to send fundraising requests through email, videos, and text messages to family members and friends. Each player was asked to submit roughly 20 names.

With dozens of players reaching out to their own networks, the small donations added up to the significant amount of $25,000 for the booster club’s annual budget.

“We’re a pretty good-sized program, we have about 45 girls in our program, so everybody contributing on those fundraisers helped accumulate that big number for us,” Cutchen said

The booster club used the money for practice shirts, warmups, team pictures, banners and team-bonding activities. It also helped pay for tournaments.

Head coach Jacob Kelty said the school generally covered one tournament while the booster club covered two. Each tournament has an entry fee that costs around $750 to $800.

The tournaments provided more than additional games. Kelty said they also gave players an opportunity to spend time together and enjoy their season.

“It’s more of a team-bonding experience,” Kelty said. “Youth sports have gotten so stressful and I want them to go enjoy this because you only get to do this for four years.”

The team also planned to travel to California for a tournament, with the booster club supporting that as well.

The school has continued to cover major costs including transportation, AIA fees and referees. The athletic department also covered head coach stipends and one varsity assistant coach, while tax-credit donations helped pay additional coach stipends.

Uniforms have followed a three-year cycle, with the school purchasing varsity uniforms every three years before passing them down to the junior teams for three years, then freshman for the final three.

Larson said equipment expenses across the department had nearly doubled in four years, making outside fundraising increasingly important for additional program opportunities.

Cutchen said the booster club tried to put most of its money back into volleyball while keeping a financial buffer the following year.

“We budget and hope to spend every penny that’s made so that it goes back into the program,” Cutchen said.

For Highland volleyball, school funding provided the necessities, while booster fundraising helped pay for the additional experiences that allowed players to travel, build team chemistry and compete beyond regular season matches.