It is no secret within Walpole High that extracurricular are struggling, budget-wise.  In the past four years the number of extracurricular activities offered to WHS students has dwindled, and less than half of the clubs are now left for the students to participate in. The budget cuts that always seem to be affecting the Walpole public school system have made the previously hectic after school club scene much less active, and unfortunately its starting to take a toll on the students who are unable to find a way to get involved in the school community. In order to prevent fuvitrther extracurricular actiy cuts, Principal Stephen Imbusch raffled off an iPad 3 (the iPad that was released on March 16) for the first prize winner, $100 in lottery tickets for the second prize winner (as long as the winner was 18 years of age), and an autographed Clay Buchholz baseballf for the third prize winner.  This raffle, cleverly named the iRaffle, would benefit several WHS Extracurricular Clubs and Activities, including Robotics, Drama Club, Best Buddies, Diversity Club, and more. The raffle took place on the WHS morning news on April 5 and the winners were notified shortly after.

Since budget cuts have become a prominent part of the Walpole Public School System atmosphere, the school has been forced to cut down on a vast number of clubs, leaving many students with nothing to do after school hours. “We have cut down so much on clubs; this school has less than half of the clubs we had about four years ago because of budget cuts,” said Imbusch. “We were way over budget, so we have had to make some adjustments, like merging the Class Advisors and the Student Council, for example.” The iRaffle, which was thought up when the Drama Club’s annual winter musical was threatened to be cut, raised almost $2,000 to go toward various extracurricular activities. “Other activities have their own way of raising money; activitiy fees for students to join clubs will bring in money for the school, and sports also bring in revenue with their own activity fees,” said Imbusch, but the extra $2,000 will help keep many after school clubs alive.

Many students are also happy about the outcome of the iRaffle this year. “I love the Drama Club productions and I would have been so upset if it would have been cancelled due to budget cuts,” said junior Alison Ajemian. “I’m very happy that the school community cares enough about our extracurricular activities to raise enough money to help us out.” Other students are just as happy about this movement to try and keep after school clubs alive. “It feels good to know that administration is fighting for our after school activities,” said senior Jennifer Landon. “I hope this continues in the future so we don’t have to lose things that are a big part of our school community.”