School Board Takes No Action On KFL Funding Request

Jay Barrett/KMXT

The Kodiak High School football team started practice on Monday, the same day officials with the Kodiak Football League had their contract with the school district approved. Jay Barrett has more on the league and its growing need for financing.

The Kodiak Football League is a non-profit organization that raises its own money, with no direct financial help from the Kodiak Island Borough School District. But if KFL’s new president Hamilton Long gets his wish, that could change.

He says the league has about 16-thousand dollars on-hand, and has plans to raise 76-thousand dollars this year. But that might not be enough, especially if the high school team has the same success it had the last two years, so Long was hoping the district could fund any playoff trips that might occur this year:

— (KFL 1 38 sec “… provide these services for the high school.”)

District funding for the league has been a hot potato – or a political football, if you will – since the program’s inception. One draw on the high school program this year is an increased expenditure on the KFL’s youth league, which Long says it also funds and operates:

— (KFL 2 38 sec “… ignored for the last two or three years.”)

KFL board member Rich Walker also made a pitch for district funding, not just for the high school team, but the youth program as well:

— (KFL 3 20 sec “… high school and the youth league, alright?”)

School board member Norm Wooten told Walker and Long that budget proposal time was six months ago:

— (KFL 4 35 sec “… could certainly bring us some, some recommendations.”)

One of the ways the KFL raises money is through players performing odd jobs around town for donations. But Long says that needs to be a requirement to play:

— (KFL 5 37 sec “… the KFL fees and the volunteer hours.”)

Long said the fees and volunteer work accounts for 10 percent of the KFL’s budget. The board voted unanimously to approve the contract with the league, but did not make that change to it, or offer any funding.

I’m Jay Barrett.

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HOST TAG: The Kodiak High School Bears football team opens its seven-game regular season a week from Saturday on August 9^th here at home against Seward. The Bears will also host Homer, Soldotna and Houston this year, and travel to play Skyview, Kenai and Palmer. The Northern Lights Conference Schedule is on our web site, KMXT dot org.