An initial fundraiser plan came up short, but the Marysville-Pilchuck cheerleading squad is still hoping to raise $1,325 per cheerleader for summer camp, uniforms and fees.

School budget shortfalls resulted in a cut in funding to the cheerleading team, to the tune of about $500 per participant.

“They feel, and we’re trying to reconcile this, if they go to the school administration and ask for funding, they’re taking money from another team they support,” said Brenda Vieweg, whose daughter Kimberly will be a sophomore on the team this fall.

Vieweg and team organizers are hoping to use the budget shortfall as an opportunity to teach the team that they can meet their goals through hard work. But the work has proven harder than even parents expected. A spaghetti feed fundraiser at Maxwell’s raised only $178.

The cheer team has a number of other traditional fundraisers this month, which they’re hoping will cut into the team’s expenses. But if it doesn’t, that total will come out of their pockets.

The team sells advertisements for a football calendar produced every year. They also have three unscheduled car washes. And the team will take over management of the Little Tomahawks cheer camp this summer.

But the team is still looking for other opportunities to earn the money.

“They’re too young to have jobs. We don’t want to take a handout. We want to earn it, they want to feel good about it. We just don’t know what to do,” Vieweg said.

Registration for the Little Tommies cheer camp runs through June 26, with the camp going 9 a.m. to noon July 29-31. The cost is $49 per participant.