DeKalb Barb Boosters dissolves: Here’s what it means for athletes, supporters

DeKALB – The DeKalb Barb Boosters will no longer serve as the fundraising arm of DeKalb School District 428 athletics, an announcement by its members said this week.

The Boosters group was dissolved effective Monday, its members said in a social media post.

“While we’re sad to close this chapter, we’re incredibly proud of the years spent supporting DeKalb athletics,” the announcement reads.

Laura Powell, a DeKalb resident who most recently served as the board’s president, said primary reason was due to vacancies on the board, and no one stepping up to fill them.

The board had three members – president, vice president and secretary – who stayed through the end of the school year. The treasurer resigned in December 2024.

“We announced the vacancies earlier in the school year and let our members know that without somebody stepping up to take over those roles, we wouldn’t be able to continue,” Powell said.

The board solicited replacements to fill vacancies in several ways, including emails, social media communications and word of mouth at in-person events.

But Powell said community interest in the board has been waning.

“We had a steady drop off in attendance and volunteers, even just people showing up to meetings,” she said. “We did what we could to try and make it easy for people to show up. We added a virtual option where people could join via Google Meet and we did have a few people join that way. But ultimately this year, we have one to two attendees per meeting outside of our board.”

Powell said the district is aware of what’s been going on with DeKalb Barb Boosters.

“I’ve had several conversations with Athletic Director Peter Goff and he worked with me to try and find a solution ahead of yesterday’s end of fiscal year,” Powell said. “He’s still working behind the scenes to see if there’s some way to reignite the Barb Boosters. I don’t know that’s going to happen or not, but he is trying.”

Powell said the community’s support of DeKalb Barb Boosters over the years has been appreciated.

“Without them, Barb Boosters could not have existed for as long as it did,” she said. “We wish that we could have continued. We would love to see somebody take it over and make it exciting again. I think we had people in positions for too long. I myself have been a part of Boosters for 9 years, and I’ve been in a leadership role for 5 years.”

Remaining funds are expected to be distributed among DeKalb High School athletic teams and lifetime membership passes will be honored at athletic events, according to the Boosters.

Boosters funds also are raised yearly through the FNBO Challenge, the biannual event that traditionally pits DeKalb High School versus Sycamore High School. Powell said it’s not known what will happen for DeKalb fundraising at future Challenges.

“That’s up to FNBO and whatever the challenge guidelines say,” she said.