Ag Expo Dance

[Curt Robbins]

We have received several comments regarding the fee to attend the Ag Expo dance. When we started planning Ag Expo I reached out to AGR to see if they once again would like to host the dance. when they agreed I asked if they would be charging admission. At that point they felt they did not need to charge. Then I was contacted and AGR said they would need to charge for the dance to help with the costs if their anniversary celebration and some other expenses. 

The foundation has never hosted the dance it has always been offered to am MSU ag group and they then take charge.  This is no different than collegiate FFA charging for the dance at state convention. 

I fully understand it would have been best to know right up front and we would have added the option to judging card. Unfortunately, that is not the case, and we are where we are today. 

However, I have talked to AGR, and they completely understand the situation. They do have expenses related to hosting the dance that they need to cover. 

I asked them if there was anything that they could do and they have agreed to lower the admission to $2/ person.  AGR is willing to accept checks from schools or chapters if they are paying for entire chapter. 

AGR does donate back to the foundation and has for many years.  The size of their donation is determined by the success of their annual testy feast. We never know exactly how much they can donate until December. 

I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused but to remain fully transparent I let you all know as soon as I knew. 

The foundation is committed to making Ag Expo as rewarding as possible and to keeping the financial costs to the chapters as low as possible. 

Also, a reminder that we are required by MSU to have adult chaperones on site the entire duration of the dance. This once again will require the ag teachers to be the chaperones. 

If you have any other questions, please let me know. 

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[J.R. Pierce]

Hi Curt,

Thanks for clarifying the situation with AGR and the dance fee. I understand plans can change, and I appreciate you passing the information along.

That said, this setup doesn’t work for most of us. Asking school districts to send checks or worse, cash, directly to a college fraternity isn’t acceptable under most district financial policies. There’s a reason we operate through official vendors and established billing systems. It keeps everything transparent and accountable to the taxpayers who ultimately support our programs.

Beyond the paperwork, there’s also a community side to this. In smaller districts like ours, telling students just days before Expo that they now need to bring cash for a dance is going to cause frustration and backlash. Parents and communities already help us fundraise thousands of dollars so these kids can attend. Asking them to pull out cash at the door for something they assumed was covered doesn’t sit right and puts ag teachers in the crosshairs for a decision we didn’t make.

The fix is straightforward. Add the $2 dance fee as an optional line item on JudgingCard. It’s a quick edit, takes only a few minutes and allows chapters to handle payment the right way. Then the Foundation can forward one check to AGR, keeping everyone above board and out of a compliance mess.

This isn’t about making noise; it’s about doing things the right way. Our students and communities expect us to run things responsibly. I’d encourage the Foundation to make this small change now so we’re not asking teachers to sidestep policy or take the heat for a last-minute change later

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J.R.Pierce

Shields Valley High School

Primary Email: coachpi...@gmail.com

School Email: jrpi...@shieldsvalleyschools.org

School Phone: 406 - 686 - 4621

Cell: 406 -589 -2659

"E.L.E"

[Trevor Motley]

Hi Curt,

Thanks for the update, and I appreciate the effort to work with AGR on a solution. I also want to echo what J.R. said, because I think he was spot on and many of us are facing similar challenges with this decision at the chapter level.

Like others, I already held a pre-trip meeting and told students and parents the dance would be free based on the October 20th email and past practice at Ag Expo. Having to go back now even for a $2 fee creates confusion and puts advisors in a difficult position with families and our school districts.

Like JR mentioned there are also very real practical concerns. I know it would be quite the headache to get our district to allow us to send chapter money directly to a fraternity, additionally we're not allowed to keep petty cash for our program so we don't have the ability to cover this fee without using an official channel.

Additionally, with the upcoming pause/delay/reduction of SNAP benefits, a number of our lower-income students are already facing increased financial strain at home. Even small, unexpected costs can put added stress on families and create barriers for students who are already doing everything they can to attend.

Is there a way to:

• Add the $2 dance fee as a line item on JudgingCard now?

or

• Could the Foundation cover the cost this year and, if needed, include it in registration next year when chapters have time to plan for it?

These options would keep things within local school policies, fair to families, and aligned with the Foundation's mission of supporting students.

I appreciate everyone’s work on Expo -- it’s just been tough with the changes this year, and I wanted to share my perspective.

Thanks,

Trevor Motley

[Curt Robbins]

Thanks for all your feedback. Ideally, we would have had the dance fee on judging card. We will do our best to make that happen next year. 

As for this year it is too late to add to judging card as registration has closed. 

The foundation did not budget the cost of the dance, so we did not seek any donors to help with this cost. 

I understand the logistics of getting another form of payment to AGR. 

Here is a solution I hope will work. When you print off your judging card amount due sheet please write in on the bottom the number of dance attendees and add $2 for each of them to the total amount due. The foundation will track this and reimburse AGR. I will ask you at registration if you are attending the dance. The option is still available for the student or chapter to pay cash at the door as well. If other payment options need to be made let me know and we will work it out 

Again, I apologize for all the hassle this has created. 

See you all next week. 

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From: Trevor Motley <mot...@stevensville.k12.mt.us>
Sent: Tuesday, November 4, 2025 8:03:31 AM
To: AG ED General Group <ag...@opiconnect.org>
Cc: J.R. Pierce <coachpi...@gmail.com>; AG ED General Group <ag...@opiconnect.org>; Curt Robbins <found...@montanaffa.org>
Subject: Re: [aged] Ag Expo Dance

 

[Susan Standley]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but according to Judging Card, registration doesn't close until this Friday Nov 7th. We are currently in late registration. I have been waiting for close on Friday to get final numbers to purchase supplies for the food science contest. Please let me know if it is indeed closed so I can start getting items for the contest.  (side note - I haven't received any notification of allergies which were due Nov.1st. Please let me know of any by Friday or else everything is fair game for ingredients.) 

Susan Standley

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