Keeping the 'Friday Night Fever' alive amid budget cuts
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From football to fine arts, extracurricular activities are known to be a big factor in keeping kids in school.
However, budget cuts have left many districts questioning how much they can keep up with the cost of competition.
"We've had to pull back the number of competitions we've had, especially in the area of travel," Superintendent Curtis Culwell said.
The cuts are one reason University Interscholastic League, or UIL, officials have been directed to look into other ways of bringing in money.
State lawmakers heard from UIL and school leaders Tuesday about the status of extracurricular competitions and the effects state budget cuts have had.
"We are working with our council, trying to identify ways to reduce costs, potentially reducing the number of maximum allowable contests, adding some area contests vs. regional contests at the post district level, which help limit travel costs," James Harrison with UIL said.
Harrison also said they league would look at pursuing other avenues of producing revenue, like increasing the level of television coverage for sports.
While Harrison says it's likely still a few years off, ending the moratorium on televising live, Friday night football games could become a reality.
How it would look, or who would be featured would be another factor--one school leaders say they take seriously so they don't exploit high school players.
"There's always change coming and when resources become more restricted, we begin to look at ways we can continue to offer the activities we do," Culwell said.
The UIL Legislative Council meets next month. The meetings are open to the public.
For more information, visit UILTexas.org.