A Florida high school this week announced that it will dissolve its external booster association in favor of creating an internal entity to handle athletics fundraising.
Windermere High School principal Andrew Leftakis made the announcement in an open letter.
“Over the years, athletic boosters operated as a 501(c)(3) in an effort to support all athletic programs at Windermere,” wrote Leftakis. “The board also organized events, sought out corporate sponsors and sold the annual booster passes. We are forever grateful for the work done by current and past board members to support Windermere athletics."
Leftakis said that the school had recently transferred all booster-raised funds to the WHS internal athletic fund.
"What does this mean? In the past, funds were housed in a separate bank account (non-WHS controlled) and distributed by an elected board of directors. With the closure of the booster account, any future fundraising will be deposited in the WHS internal athletic account. … I understand this change may be confusing for some, however, this brings us in line with OCPS Board Policy and allows the school to have oversight of funds," Leftakis wrote.
According to the Orange Observer, the change also means that there is no longer a need for a traditional, elected board of directors, however, the school is establishing a volunteer committee to continue important work such as obtaining corporate sponsorships, organizing booster passes and planning school-wide events.
