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Bingo a no-go
Fundraiser no longer as lucrative for some school districts in area.
Lagging attendance at Berkshire Schools athletic boosters' weekly bingo nights has caused the club to close up shop until mid-January.
Bingo is the main fundraiser for the boosters and some other area school clubs, and most have reported a dip in attendance - and therefore revenues - in the last several months.
"Nationwide, bingo is down 40 percent," said Rick Burzanko, Berkshire Athletic Booster Club president-elect. "Hopefully, it's not dying, just declining, and we can rebound."
Berkshire's bingo requires at least 70 players to make a profit. The last time it was held, Dec. 8, only 55 people participated.
Statewide, such fundraisers still yield a few million dollars in annual contributions to at least half of Ohio's 729 school districts, according to March statistics.
In Lake and Geauga counties, groups ranging from the humane society to nursing homes and churches count on bingo.
In its heyday, the North High Athletic Boosters bingo, in the Willoughby-Eastlake Schools, averaged 160 to 180 people and raised $180,000 to $200,000 a year.
Now it's down to 110 to 115 people, booster club President Don Morlock said.
"We're holding our own pretty good," he said. "Who's to say what tomorrow will bring?"
School officials attribute the decline to a lot of things, including smoking bans and competition from new casinos in Erie, Pa., and Detroit.
"We're trying to devise new games and get more clientele," Willoughby-Eastlake Superintendent Keith Miller said.
"The other thing is, the people that were playing bingo in 1999 are still playing bingo. There are a lot of senior citizens. There are not a lot of young people replacing them."
In the West Geauga Schools, athletic booster club members are attempting to attract a younger crowd, and so far, have had some success.
"We're starting to get a lot of the parents because they're starting to realize: 'This money goes for my kids, so I should go,' " said Lisa Drenski, who is in charge of bingo for the district.
West Geauga also has benefited from the closure of nearby bingo programs in Lyndhurst and Solon, she said.
The district reintroduced its program a few months ago, on Tuesdays at the middle school. Its bingo was canceled several years ago after a smoking ban affecting schools was implemented statewide.
A more extensive statewide smoking ban took effect in April.
"We had a rough start," Drenski acknowledged. "We felt we needed four to five months to recoup our money and start making money. We're just growing by the week, because a lot of places are shutting down.
"What I've been told is we have kind of a different program. We're trying to run it more like a business and keeping everybody happy. We try to know everybody by their first name."
For Berkshire, the result of dropping bingo revenues means some belt tightening, Burzanko said. Other groups within the schools previously were allowed to benefit from bingo may be afforded fewer opportunities.
For example, the sixth-grade camp fund was allowed five bingo nights a year. In the future, it might be given only two nights, Burzanko said.
Another side effect is less money for special athletic projects. The booster club primarily provides money for new uniforms and other things coaches need.
"We try to stay on a four-year replacement schedule with uniforms, and now we may have to stretch that out a little bit," Burzanko said.
Berkshire's booster nights are to resume Jan. 13 in the high school cafeteria.
Lagging attendance at Berkshire Schools athletic boosters' weekly bingo nights has caused the club to close up shop until mid-January.
Bingo is the main fundraiser for the boosters and some other area school clubs, and most have reported a dip in attendance - and therefore revenues - in the last several months.
"Nationwide, bingo is down 40 percent," said Rick Burzanko, Berkshire Athletic Booster Club president-elect. "Hopefully, it's not dying, just declining, and we can rebound."
Berkshire's bingo requires at least 70 players to make a profit. The last time it was held, Dec. 8, only 55 people participated.
Statewide, such fundraisers still yield a few million dollars in annual contributions to at least half of Ohio's 729 school districts, according to March statistics.
In Lake and Geauga counties, groups ranging from the humane society to nursing homes and churches count on bingo.
In its heyday, the North High Athletic Boosters bingo, in the Willoughby-Eastlake Schools, averaged 160 to 180 people and raised $180,000 to $200,000 a year.
Now it's down to 110 to 115 people, booster club President Don Morlock said.
"We're holding our own pretty good," he said. "Who's to say what tomorrow will bring?"
School officials attribute the decline to a lot of things, including smoking bans and competition from new casinos in Erie, Pa., and Detroit.
"We're trying to devise new games and get more clientele," Willoughby-Eastlake Superintendent Keith Miller said.
"The other thing is, the people that were playing bingo in 1999 are still playing bingo. There are a lot of senior citizens. There are not a lot of young people replacing them."
In the West Geauga Schools, athletic booster club members are attempting to attract a younger crowd, and so far, have had some success.
"We're starting to get a lot of the parents because they're starting to realize: 'This money goes for my kids, so I should go,' " said Lisa Drenski, who is in charge of bingo for the district.
West Geauga also has benefited from the closure of nearby bingo programs in Lyndhurst and Solon, she said.
The district reintroduced its program a few months ago, on Tuesdays at the middle school. Its bingo was canceled several years ago after a smoking ban affecting schools was implemented statewide.
A more extensive statewide smoking ban took effect in April.
"We had a rough start," Drenski acknowledged. "We felt we needed four to five months to recoup our money and start making money. We're just growing by the week, because a lot of places are shutting down.
"What I've been told is we have kind of a different program. We're trying to run it more like a business and keeping everybody happy. We try to know everybody by their first name."
For Berkshire, the result of dropping bingo revenues means some belt tightening, Burzanko said. Other groups within the schools previously were allowed to benefit from bingo may be afforded fewer opportunities.
For example, the sixth-grade camp fund was allowed five bingo nights a year. In the future, it might be given only two nights, Burzanko said.
Another side effect is less money for special athletic projects. The booster club primarily provides money for new uniforms and other things coaches need.
"We try to stay on a four-year replacement schedule with uniforms, and now we may have to stretch that out a little bit," Burzanko said.
Berkshire's booster nights are to resume Jan. 13 in the high school cafeteria.
Written by Betsy Scott
BScott@News-Herald.com
