"We are in a year of fundraising," Joan Scribner, principal of Nipmuc Regional High School, told the School Committee.

While several different clubs have increased their fundraising, Scribner said one area where fundraising is most pronounced is high school athletics.

"It used to be we would use fundraising to pay for additional things for the students, like jackets or sweatshirts, or to help students that could not afford the fee," Scribner said. "Now that fundraising is being used for essentials: to get a coach or pay for transportation."

This marks the first year athletic programs are funded exclusively through user fees and fundraising. In 2009, the user fee was $150 per athlete, per sport in 2009, with a $500 family cap.

Fees for fall 2010 sports ranged from $300 for cheerleading, up to $581 for girls cross country. The family cap is now gone. Fees also increased for winter sports, and range from $300 for indoor track and cheerleading, up to $800 for ice hockey.

"These are not small fees," committee member Judy Leonelli said last night. "They are really big fees and they impact families."

The number of students participating in athletics did not change significantly last fall. Many programs witnessed a small decrease in students. Boys cross country dropped the most: from 25 participants in 2009, to 14 in 2010. Girls cross country grew from eight participants in 2009 to last year's 16 participants.

This winter's boys basketball team grew by 10 participants. The indoor track teams, however, shrank from 31 boys and 27 girls last year, to 27 total participants this year.

Scribner said the current level of fundraising is hard on the community and that, eventually, Mendon-Upton residents are going to say enough.

"I sometimes start to think, 'Oh my gosh, there's so many fundraisers. There's a small community and you keep hitting the same people,"' she said. "People have a hard time saying 'no, I don't want any more cookie dough or any more pies."'