The group that guides high school fine arts and sports events in the state went way over in some parts of its budget, but the South Dakota High School Activities Association also saved money in other areas. The organization’s leaders say this year’s financial fluctuations balance.
The South Dakota High School Activities Association reviews its budget each June. A first-glance at a few key areas shows the organization overspent by thousands of dollars. The numbers show the activities association planned on spending $4,500 on legal fees, but it spent $16,000 more than that. Officials say some of that was in creating new internal policies and addressing new state regulations on openness. The review also shows overages in audit expenses and snow removal.
James Weaver is the assistant executive director of the South Dakota High School Activities Association. He says savings in areas help the revenues equal expenses.
"So, in the end, the budget balances out," Weaver says. "So we didn’t have an overage of the overall budget; we just had an overage of a couple of line items here or there which were offset then by a couple of line items here or there that were under budget."
Weaver says the budget functions like a school or home account, and money left over in a designated category returns to the general fund. He says the South Dakota High School Activities Association’s budget is right on track.
