The parent of a cheerleader prompted a deeper discussion into feeding the auxiliary students at away football games.
Jason Wesson, whose daughter is a cheerleader at North Webster High School, says a policy letter was sent out with students to parents at NWHS on how the school will feed its auxiliary students on away games.
“If we can take a football team and feed them when they go off, why can’t we feed all the other kids?” he asked board members. “Is the football team more important than your auxiliary just because you’re in band, a cheerleader, dance line or whatever?”
He says it really became an issue with him last football season when his daughter went to Delhi to which NWHS brought a huge crowd.
“By half time, the concession stands were totally wiped out,” he said. “They closed it down. For your auxiliary, during the third quarter, that’s when they are able to get out of their seats and go to the concession stand. They get there, and guess what? There’s nothing for the kids to eat. So, they load them back on the bus and send them home.”
NWHS principal Jeff Franklin didn’t go into any great detail about what took place on that trip, other than to say the school promised NWHS a number of things that didn’t come to pass.
“I will admit that we had a little problem in Delhi last year,” he said. “I think all the principals try to do the same thing on this, and the kids generally take stuff with them to eat, and a lot of times, that’s the (most fun) part of the trip – them being able to pack their lunch and take their lunch with them.”
However, he says if they do take a long trip and they aren’t able to eat, they do provide food for them.
Part of the issue is other expenses as well, Franklin said. With expenses for fuel and paying the bus drivers, about $14,000 was spent to cover those expenses last year, he added.
The football players are fed from funds from the quarterback club. The band also has a booster club in which they have fundraisers to raise money for equipment and supplies they need, but they do not provide food on the trips.
However, not all of the extracurricular athletics, like cheerleading, dance line, etc. have nonprofit booster clubs to raise funds. They have to do independent fundraisers.
Board member Jerry Lott suggested the principal’s association meet to discuss the issue.
“If it’s a problem at North Webster, Minden would have the same situation,” Lott said. “Lakeside and Doyline would have the same situation.”
Board member Frankie Mitchell says when she was in high school, she was a band member, and someone always made sure they were fed and feels they need to look into it.
“Our cafeteria people made us some sandwiches,” she said. “Sometimes it was just cheese and bread, but it was the love they had more than anything else.”
Wesson says he understands there’s nothing the school board can do, but he feels the more people know about it, the sooner a solution can be found.
The principal’s association is expected to come back with a summary of their discussion by the end of the school year, Franklin, president of the principals association, said.
When I was in school and we went to away games we stopped at McDonalds on the way home and were given $5. I don’t know who provided the money but it bought us a meal and dessert. Of course that was back in the late 80’s.
We went to the Delhi game last year and on the way home we stopped at a Burger King and the band buses stopped there also they all got something to eat there.
If the school can not feed them ALL, they should not feed anyone. They should stop at a fast food restaurant on the way to games; always.
It is not the school that pays for the food that is given to the football players! The school also doesn’t prepare it! It is the Quarterback Club that does it for them (parents of the players).
Do you have parental support for the quarterback club from the band, cheerleaders, flag line & etc…
parents. Yes, you do! Then they should feed everyone. All students are important to this sports program and all sports programs at every school.
I am a band member of North Webster. We actually don’t stop anywhere for anything unless we have to. The only time we stop is if we need a bathroom break, like we did last year at the Delhi game. We didn’t eat and if someone did get something to eat, they most likely got in trouble.We only get sack lunches, and with that comes a sandwich, a bag of chips, and a box of juice. The football team gets to stop and eat at different places in Bossier and Shreveport. The band has to pay at least 200 dollars every year for a band fee, and the instruments we have are used and old. We have trouble paying for the repairs and getting new things. The same goes with the other groups: cheer, dance line, and auxiliary. They have to pay a fee to go to these different camps so they can learn the routines and everything else. We have to pay for our uniforms and everything else so we can participate in these groups. The foot ball team has all these other things that they don’t really need like they have outdoor stereos that they listen to during practice and they have direct tv in the locker room so that they can have something to entertain them while they don’t have anything to do. Yeah, I get that the quarterback club makes the food for the foot ball team, but the spirit groups do not get fed. The football team gets fed every Thursday afternoon, every Friday morning for breakfast, and Friday after school. We, as in the spirit groups, have to either go home and eat, or wait til the game to get something to eat. Also, on away games, like when we went to Mansfield, we weren’t allowed to eat on the bus. They get fed meals that are twice the size of sack lunches. It’s is unfair that the spirit groups get treated worse than the football team. Everyone should be treated equally, and that’s that.
Where do you think the quarterback club get the money to feed the football players… From people around town that that donate money to them. And all the things we buy from them. So if they can’t share and feed everyone then we can stop donate and buying things from them !!!!
Why is it going to take until the end of the school year to get a response from the principal’s association ?
I mean its not like the school takes out money to feed the football which my self I am on the quarterback club spends their hard earned money on that stuff
Pack a lunch. Knights are rolling to Lee Hedges tomorrow to finish off the Cowboys. Who dat say gonna beat them Knights? Quarterback club fund raisers and sponsors from local business pays for the meals for team. If you want to be a part of Thursday night meals lace up some cleats.
The band was getting money, then the school took over the concession stand at the football games. We earned money from the sales at the stand but ever since the school actually took it over, we are earning half, maybe even less, the money that we usually earn. The concession stand was pretty much our booster club. Now it’s split up between all the groups, even the team. That means even more money for them. They also get new equipment every year while the spirit groups have to reuse the things that we have. Yeah, people donate to the quarter back club, but what about the spirit groups, we don’t have any sponsors. Also, have you counted how many people come to the games just to see the field show. There are quite a bit of people that come just for that. If everything was planned out the way it supposed to be, we would never have this problem and we could have plenty of solutions for this. This is all true.
I was in band for 5 years. So I know that “someone” is lyi g. Because the funnest part about away games aint packing your own lunch at all. The cafeteria provided sack lunches “SOMETIMES” but not EVERY TIME. and le
t’s not forget that at some of these games we were not suppose to bring food into their games because just like our school they want us to use their consession stands to raise money but back to my point when sack lunches were given we ate them but also sometimes their were not enough so the cheerleaders were sweet enough to give us theirs. I can also say that when you are a band student you do notice that tge football team IS treated better. We they play the football games we know this. Thats why the spirit groups are there so support the football team. Somedays football players would pick fun at the drummers. “Yeah boy… play that drum boy.” Addressing them in a tone that belittles them as if they are slaves. Some of the coaches not all, would wait until all the band members had walked to football field(and I mean they waited until all of us were down there.) THEN they would send the football team down to the field and they would come out on the field in the middle of us dont our half time show practice and almost hit some of us, and start practicing. Then we would go to the practice field and you know what? Here tgey come again. Some of the coaches would smirk. It was entertaining apparently because we were lazy people but that was never the case. So we go in the gym for practice. We cant practice in the gym because the cheerleaders and dance line are practicing in both gyms. So were do we practice? The CAC parking lot. That’s really normal for a school I guess huh? Now back to my point about someone who was lying. I guess like he said all spirit groups are treated equal. We eat the same meals? No. The quarter back club has sponsors. They support the knights. Does band have sponsers? No. Why I do not know. It is something for the staff to discuss. Not me. Maybe other spirit groups have sponsers maybe not. Last I checked everyone was a knight. Not just the football team. Then the pepsquad at the time(2012) would have the nerve to request a song. I felt like a slave sometimes. LOL but I stayed in band not because of the stupid sack lunches. I stayed because I love music. We would have our fights and what not but I still loved all of my band members and our band director. We all struggled but we still cared about each other. So no those sack lunches are not the funniest part at all. The funniest part is getting your education, being with your friends, and learning to respect those around you even if they have no idea that you do.