GARDEN GROVE : School District Calls Meeting on Bingo

The Garden Grove Unified School District has called a meeting for Tuesday to discuss a proposal to have bingo games on high school campuses to raise money for extracurricular activities.

“We’re bringing together the principals and a parent organization representative from each high school to the meeting,” said Jim Griffis, director of administrative services for the Garden Grove Unified School District, which has seven regular high schools and one continuation campus. “I want them to know what they’re getting involved in.” The meeting, which will begin at 4 p.m., is not open to the public.

Parents in booster clubs in the district have advanced the games as a way to raise money, citing the large amounts booster clubs in other school districts have been able to raise this way.

Griffis said that operating bingo games is a major undertaking that would require considerable amounts of parents’ time, money and energy.

A game could cost as much as $8,000 to start up, he said, and it could take as many as 15 parents a night to run it.

District high school sports and musical boosters petitioned the City Council in January to amend the city bingo ordinance to allow games on high school campuses. Last week, the council tentatively approved the change. A final vote on the matter is scheduled for Feb. 26. The proposal then would need to get the approval of the school board.

“I think it’ll go,” school board member Richard Hain said. “I’m going to support it, but I’m not sure all the high schools will be able to have a game because of the tremendous manpower requirements. Schools in Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley can do it, but they have a much larger parent base than we do.”

Another concern that must be addressed, Griffis said, is the disparity in the bingo ordinances of the three cities with high schools in the district.

“Garden Grove has the strictest bingo ordinance around,” he said. “The laws in Westminster (location of La Quinta High) and Fountain Valley (Los Amigos High) aren’t as restrictive. Do you hold all the high schools to the same rules?”

For instance, the maximum allowable prize for a game in Garden Grove is $250; other cities allow prizes of $1,000 or more. Some parent booster groups have argued that districts that have bingo fund-raisers are able to raise much more than Garden Grove has.