Kohl's Cares Contest Could Eliminate Athletic Fees at Milton High

Budget constraints have made the use of grants essential for the Milton Public Schools. With a new program from Kohl's the district is trying to turn its focus to athletics using social media.

The Milton High School is vying for a $500,000 award from the Kohl's Cares program, which will be used to eliminate all athletics fees at the school. Because of a tight budget in 2009, the high school was nearly forced to eliminate sports. To save the seasons, $50,000 was raised. The donations still didn't cover the programs entirely so each athlete must pay $250 per sport or $500 for ice hockey.

The grant would make all sports free of charge to all students for four years. In that time, fundraising could be done to make the fee elimination permanent.

The Kohl's Cares contest is a Facebook-based competition that is won based on votes. The 20 schools with the most votes by September 3 will win a half-million dollars. Votes can be registered at Facebook.com/kohls. Each person has 20 votes to give, and can vote up to five times for each school of their choice.

The school has also created a Facebook page to promote the program. According to a letter from Milton Public Schools grant writer Chris Masalsky, the page will be used to send updates and profile the athletes, teams and coaches who will benefit from the award.

"We want this campaign to 'go viral' – so once you've voted, please reach out to folks in your personal and professional networks and ask them to vote, too," said Masalsky.