TUPPER LAKE — It’s official. The Tupper Lake Central School District has secured the funding for its junior varsity basketball program next year. This caps off several months of community fundraising after it was determined that TLCSD did not have enough money in its budget to directly support a JV team.

Head varsity boys basketball coach Brian Bennett pursued the goal of making sure the program did not go by the wayside. At first, it seemed like a lofty one. In March, Bennett met with TLCSD Athletic Director Hayden LaMere and Superintendent Jaycee Welsh to calculate a seasonal budget for the JV team.

They arrived at a figure of $15,000 — with the majority of those expenses earmarked for transportation. Bennett said in the spring that while at first glance it seems like a large number, student transportation, especially between far-flung Adirondack communities, is inherently expensive. Buses must be maintained in accordance with a litany of stringent safety standards, and along with driver and fuel costs, it adds up to about $8 per mile.

Bennett said once the campaign began, things started looking up quickly. He was humbled by the number of businesses and individuals who were willing to lend a hand — many of whom reached out directly without him previously asking for any help.

“We did a couple of things to raise money ourselves,” he said. “But I was shocked at how much outside businesses were just happy to support.”

Although it took time to meet the goal, Bennett said he was confident they were going to make it.

“A lot of people kept asking if the goal had been met, and I just kept saying, ‘The goal is going to be met — I promise you that,'” he said.

Bennett said a large donation from the Saranac Lake Kiwanis Club, made possible by a grant they had received to help with local sports, put them over the fundraising threshold. Additionally, Perk and Pine held a fundraiser, and SLICFiber and Duff’s Dumpsters made significant contributions, along with a number of individuals and other businesses.

On July 7, the TLCSD board voted unanimously to formally accept the donations, which amounted to $16,672.50 when bundled together — almost three months ahead of the Oct. 1 fundraising deadline that had to be met for the team to play.

“Now the fun begins with getting ready for next season,” Bennett said.

He informed rival schools that Tupper Lake will be showing up and ready to compete with a JV team next year. The gym flooring there is being redone over the summer as part of a capital improvement project. Bennett said skills and drills sessions are expected to begin after that, with students allowed to show up on Sundays to shoot hoops, even if they are playing another fall sport. He said things will ramp up to a few days a week in the interim period between fall and winter sports before the season officially starts.

While the season is months away, Bennett — who is also the guidance counselor at the middle-high school — was already seeing positive in-school academic and behavioral changes from some students at the end of this past school year, as it became more and more likely there’d be a JV basketball team. Through his experience as an educator, Bennett has seen the motivation that sports can instill in students to work hard in the classroom — knowing that academic or disciplinary issues can jeopardize playing time.

Bennett said that having a JV team means that there’s a lot more potential to get kids playing. Knowing that they’ll have the chance to compete in a full season, with around 20 games, instead of just six or seven, which would have been the case if Bennett had just the varsity team, makes students more likely to work to stay eligible for action.

“Doing the right things leads to playing … and we already see healthy changes in students because they know there’s going to be a JV team,” Bennett said.