WOODLAND, Wash. — Woodland High School has made the 2018 -19 school year financially easier on students and parents.
Two years ago, principal John Shoup and his staff had an idea. It started as a "what if" and then became "how do we" and finally came to fruition. Woodland High School wanted to pay the $25 fee for each student's ASB card.
"We're trying to get more kids at our sporting events,” Shoup said. “They can get into home football, basketball, volleyball for free and if they go to an away game, their ASB card gets them a discount."
It's not just for sporting events, an ASB card gets students into dances and other after-school events for free.
"We were just trying to draw more kids in, because when they do that they feel like they're a part of something," he said. "When you feel like you're a part of something you're going to be more successful in school because you just feel like you belong."
The school moved about $8,000 around to fund the ASB -- or Associated Student Body. The ASB funds help pay for clubs, sports, dances and other activities that are not in the classroom.
"I think it's a great way of including the whole school and I was really proud of that decision," ASB President and Senior Hannah Landrigan said. "That was a big weight off of a lot of people's chest that they didn't have to pay that to be able to go to school events."
Landrigan says that the $25 can be a deciding factor for students that don't have jobs making that decision for filling their tank with gas, buying an ASB card and without it, students miss out.
"That $25 gets you into a lot of things at the high school and so if you don't pay it, you're missing out on a lot of experiences at the high school," she said.
Since athletes need an ASB card to play sports, that $25 also drops the participation costs for students to participate in school sports from $100 down to $75.
The school says it’s on a one-year trial. If attendance stays the same or drops, they will reevaluate the funding. But, for now they’re happy with what they’ve done.