El Camino Tries to Raise Funds for Lights

For only the second time in its 28-year history, El Camino Real High School will crown a king and queen and play a homecoming football game on its own turf tonight.

Using mobile stadium lights donated by Musco Mobile Lighting Co. to illuminate the playing field, the school’s varsity team will battle Taft High School beginning at 7 p.m. on the campus at 5440 Valley Circle Blvd.

The school’s Booster Club, a parents’ organization that raises funds for campus clubs, has been working to raise money to install permanent lights on the field.

But Jon Saul, co-chairman of the stadium lights committee, said the money has been slow to come in. “I would have thought with a neighborhood with 3,600 kids we wouldn’t have any problem raising this money, but then I’m an optimist,” he said.

Months after the club’s largest fund-raiser, the sale of engraved tiles at the school, got underway, the group is still far from its goal of $150,000 for stadium lights, up from the original $110,000 estimate.

Although Saul said the group raised more than $20,000, all but $8,000 of it was spent drawing up the plans for the new lights.

Club members said the organization can potentially earn $30,000 each year in concession revenue by hosting home football games at its own stadium.

Boosters hope to raise more than $3,500 from concession stand sales tonight. The next endeavor will be a Walk for Lights on Nov. 22, for which El Camino students and parents, as well as those from feeder schools, will be collecting sponsors for a trek through neighboring streets.

Although the fund-raising has been slow, Saul said, students are excited about the prospect of having a homecoming game on their own campus. Ordinarily, night games are played at nearby campuses, most often at Canoga Park High School.

“You wouldn’t think there are kids out there that care about this stuff,” said Saul, a father of a senior. “But they care.”