Re: The High Cost of Scouting

<Tim Hewitt said>
I will worry about how the money is spent until I can look every kid's
family squarely in the eye and tell them that the money I am asking them to
spend ... is being spent in the best way possible.
</Tim>

This is an important attitude to have! I have met too many parents who don't
seem to care how much it costs. Yes, Scouting is a worthwhile investment in
a child, but how that money is used once it is invested can be just as
important.

<Tim continued>
Scouting is expensive. For many families, too expensive, so we tone down the
uniform... We should be working to make that change. Scouting should not be
expensive if it doesn't have to be. National should be working on driving
down the costs for a unit, not on how to raise enough money to pay high
professional salaries.
</Tim>

The problem isn't that professional salaries are too high. It's not that
there are too many professionals. The high cost of Scouting in the US is
primarily a function of economics. The price of materials and labor involved
in producing official BSA gear, the exorbitant price of retaining lawyers to
defend the BSA's trademarks, the outrageous cost of liability insurance, the
cost of publishing the various resources for Scouts and their leaders, the
cost of maintaining national program areas; these are some of the things
that determine how much Scouting costs.

Tim, most of us would rather not "tone down the uniform", but we recognize
that the cost of a complete uniform can be easier to deal with if it's
spread out over time, birthdays, and other holidays. The question I most
often ask is NOT how to reduce the cost of the uniform, but how to reduce
the cost of the rest of the program so that parents can afford to buy the
uniform. How many units do you know of who try to collect their entire
operating budget from annual dues? How many units use fundraiser money for
equipment, but pass on the cost of awards and program materials to members?

Scouting does not have to be expensive. While there is little we can do
about national registration, Boys' Life, and uniform costs, there is a lot
we can do about the things we ask parents to pay for. With a little extra
effort during three or four fundraisers, you can raise enough to reduce the
amount of annual dues needed. I know it's possible, I've seen it. Imagine
how much better off we would all be right know if the discussion over the
last few weeks had been about how to raise more money instead of how much
money the Chief Scout Executive makes.

YIS
A. J. Mako, ajmako@nls.net , Scoutmaster Troop 381
Home of the Unofficial Win95 Boy Scout Desktop Theme,
http://members.aol.com/Scouts381/
Old Portage District, Great Trail Council, BSA
"I used to be an Eagle (C-7-97), but I'll always be an Eagle (1981)"

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