Section Has Hands-Off Policy on Fund-Raising

The Southern Section has no rules regulating fund-raising, according to publicist Scott Cathcart.

A school can raise as much money as it likes and spend it however it wants.

“The only recommendation we make is that someone from the school’s athletic department be directly involved in the fund-raising process,” Cathcart said.

There are rules regarding bonuses to players and coaches.

A school can’t give a team’s most valuable player $5,000 or a new car, t for example.

And the team’s coach cannot be paid directly with money generated by fund-raisers. But there is a simple way to legally circumvent that rule. The booster club can donate the money to the school district, which then could give that coach a raise.

In the future, however, schools might have to give the state a slice.

The State Board of Equalization ruled last February that a Monterey high school wrestling team must pay a sales tax on the thousands of dollars it made selling fried calamari.

The 3-2 decision cleared the way for taxes on fund-raising for high school sports.