While the Scorpion Booster Club’s first meeting of the new school year is Wednesday, Aug. 12, at 5:30 p.m., the 501(c)(3) fundraising group for Sedona Red Rock High School is already hard at work with the installation of a new scoreboard, a new fundraising program and providing supplies to students and teachers ahead of the new school year that started on Thursday, Aug. 6.

“We’ve partnered with the school in providing a classroom supply readiness program. We worked with Dr. [Tom] Swaninger, the interim principal [and Sedona Oak-Creek School District superintendent], to donate almost $4,000 in classroom supplies to make sure teachers and students and everybody are ready to go on the very first day of school,” Club President Matt Corney said. “We’ve worked with the school, and they’ve come up with a list of all the items that are necessary, and we paid for those items, and they’ll be distributing them into each individual classroom to make sure the teachers and students have everything they need to get going.”

The club has decided to forgo its annual Casino Night in 2027, after a poll of its board members at the club’s April 3 meeting showed a preference against black-tie galas, with the preference of smaller events. The meeting also noted a club budget of $20,000 to $40,000 per year “for the school is a good target.”

“We’re excited for the upcoming school year, the ’26-’27 school year,” Corney said. “We took a lot of time last year to look at our fundraising process and sponsorship process, and we’re going to make some changes this year, do a number of smaller fundraising opportunities, basically trying to get more students involved in that process and make it a broader community event.”

Tentatively there will be a fundraiser in each of the three sporting seasons, and “the idea is everybody from a kid over at West Sedona, all the way to somebody that’s been living in this town and supporting our schools for years and years, to be able to attend and enjoy,” Corney said.

While the sale of the shuttered Big Park Community School property to district benefactor Basil Maher will generate about $10 million to Sedona-Oak Creek School District, those monies can only be used on capital expenses. The boosters can help with expenses outside of that such as with the athletic programs that cost $250,000 to $300,000 to run — the club has previously stepped in to cover needs the district’s budget didn’t, including $8,493 in baseball field repairs.

Additionally, the Sedona-Oak Creek USD Educational Foundation has funds around $15 million, with a portion allocated to the school annually — potentially $900,000 this year,” the Booster Club wrote.

Remembering Lew Hoyt

The life of Lew Hoyt, a longtime assistant Scorpion track and field coach, will be honored at the school, thanks to the Sedona 30 a charitable service association that provides financial support to nonprofit organizations, which Hoyt was a member of prior to his death in September.

“The scoreboard replacement was definitely needed, [because] there were a couple failures last year during some soccer games,” Corney said about the board that includes an in memoriam of Hoyt complete with his U.S. Airforce Force fighter pilot call sign “Jumper.” “The boosters helped a little bit with some arts and graphics for it, but Sedona 30 was the funding behind it all that made it happen.”

One way for people to assist the club is by sponsoring a banner that gets hung in the SRRHS gymnasium — a practice the club recently used to honor the varsity boys soccer team’s second-place state finish.

“The banners and communications that are up at the school that represent those sponsors, as part of their sponsorship benefit, are seen year-round by not just the kids, not just the parents that are attending our school every day, but visitors that are coming to athletics events,” Corney said. “Beyond that, all of the events that are held on campus … those sponsor banners will be seen by thousands of local and visiting families and people, so it’s a really good opportunity for them to show the community their pride in their local school, be able to do advertising and have a tax deduction to boot.”

Visit scorpionboosterclub.com or 928-351-1010 for more information. See more Scorpion Booster Club coverage on Red Rock News.