"Students should have to come to school, get good grades, that's where they earn it," said Highland Principal Paul Schulte, "not in whether they can pay for it."

At Highland nearly 50 percent of students qualify for fee waivers. "We are at a disadvantage, but it's a way of life," he said. "We're fortunate because we have a good gate and we spend a lot of pop (vending) money to cover the cost."

Schulte's father coaches track in Connecticut, and students pay no fees to participate there. There are also costs beyond school-imposed fees that many students struggle to cover.

"It's a very complex, multifaceted issue," he said, noting that families are required to provide tax returns and that deters some students who would qualify from even applying.

Adding to the frustration of principals in Smith's position is the fact that other schools are awash in the revenue generated by activities and the fees used to pay for them. He said he spoke to one principal who said they had very few students eligible for fee waivers and had huge gate receipts, which led to several hundred thousand in the school's activity budget.

"I can't imagine not having to struggle," said Smith.

Delta Principal Dean Fowles understands Smith's pain. Fowles has 38 percent of his students qualifying for fee waivers.

"I don't know how he even does it," Fowles said of Smith. "I understand where he's coming from. There needs to be some funding."

Many schools — Ben Lomond, Delta and Highland included — do a lot of fundraising to try and cover some of that shortfall.

"We do a whole lot of fundraising," Fowles said. "We hit up our local business like crazy. We're very fortunate. We're a smaller school, but our gates are pretty good. We travel well, and we have a lot of support at our home games."

As for trying to find some formula to equalize both the burden and the windfalls is something not many principals are really excited about.

"I have a hard time with equalizing," Fowles said. "I'd have to take a good look at is, see how it worked. It isn't fair for some of those like Ben's school to carry that kind of burden. Everyone should have opportunities. If you live in a certain area, you shouldn't be punished because a lot of kids can't afford to pay. All students ought to at least have that opportunity."

E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com