From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune comes word of a school district that thought outside the box in order to keep sports programs and teams in business.

The good people of the Brainerd area voted down a referendum last year that would have raised property taxes to support schools, so education officials decided to cut 17 of 29 varsity sports and all middle school athletic activities. That triggered a community effort to raise money to save those activities.

The fundraising drive collected $330,000, which combined with a hefty hike in activity fees, will keep sports alive on the level at which people had been accustomed. Now, 22 percent of sports and activities funding will come from the school district, rather than the 78 percent figure that had been in effect previously.

Of course, collecting money in that fashion, even through a non-profit entity, does raise questions about how sports programs will be funded, and, more importantly, who will make the decision. Will the field hockey program receive the same degree of support as the football team? Will the boys and girls basketball teams get the same dollars? How about the softball and baseball teams, or the girls and boys track squads? And to what extent would the public want corporate involvement, and at what level and price?