Californian exclusive: High school district to cut JV sports
| Thursday, Jun 18 2009 07:13 PM
Last Updated Friday, Jun 19 2009 01:39 PM
LATEST 2009-2010 BUDGET ACTIONS
Sweep 2009-10 categorical funds (using flexibility provided by the state): $1 million
Cut:
Maintenance and operations: $765,000
Business, financial and facilities services: $90,000
Information systems and technology support: $160,000
District office personnel: $165,000
JV athletic program: $430,000
School site energy savings incentive: $427,500 (75 percent of the program)
Campus supervision (15 positions): $700,000
UPCOMING MEETINGS
Kern High School District board meetings, 5801 Sundale Ave., Bakersfield
7 p.m. Monday
8:30 a.m. July 2 to vote on 2009-10 budget
Kern High School District trustees gave the go ahead Thursday to cut junior varsity sports as part of $3.7 million in additional budget reductions next year.
Dropping from three to two sports levels in football, basketball, softball, baseball and volleyball would save the district $430,000 per year.
Those programs would continue to field freshman/sophomore and varsity teams, the same as other district sports programs.
Other proposed reductions beginning in the 2009-10 school year include dropping one campus supervisor per high school to save $700,000; cutting two tech support positions to save $160,000; and further reducing maintenance and operations by $765,000 (adding to the $500,000 cut made in February).
The $3.7 million represents a small portion of the expected $30 million in reductions the district will be forced to make over the next three years.
The board will vote on the suggested budget reductions July 2.
"We're trying to make cuts as far as possible from the classroom and the JV athletics money translates directly to classroom size, so it seemed to be a reasonable reduction," said board President Joel Heinrichs, who noted the elimination of 70 teaching jobs earlier in the year.
COACHES REACT
High school coaches were shocked and frustrated.
"Man, that's disappointing," Bakersfield High volleyball coach Tom Clarke said.
"I was hopeful it would survive, because JV programs are the lifeblood of a varsity program. It's going to be very difficult for everyone."
Every coach contacted by The Californian was most concerned with how the elimination of an underclass program would affect "fringe" student-athletes, i.e. those who aren't at the very top of their sport.
Fewer spots on a team leads to more cuts -- more cuts mean fewer kids are playing sports and getting involved after school. Clarke, for instance, said that instead of accepting some 40 girls for volleyball next fall, he'll have to cut the number to about 24. Cuts in bigger sports like football, baseball and softball will be even more severe.
"It hurts the kids the most," Golden Valley softball coach Cathy Balint-Karr said. "It takes away from the high school experience. You learn to work as a team for something; you learn how to get along with others."
Those who don't make the team will also have less to do with statistics like batting average and touchdowns and more with drop-out rates and low grade-point averages. Tony Mills, Liberty's head football and baseball coach, said that's reality now.
"I've had kids come to me," Mills said, "and say, 'The only reason I come to school is because I get to play sports, and the only reason I make my grades is to be around the guys and play the sport that I love. If that's what I have to do, then heck, I got to go make the grades.' This really helps them out and keeps them around."
Coaches also expressed concern over how teams will be organized -- do you grab mostly freshmen and throw them on teams, hoping they'll develop, or take only the most talented and have a true JV-to-varsity system?
Others are worried about the competitive disadvantage Kern County students now face without an extra level of play to develop.
"Think about the Clovis Unified School District (which wins some 80 percent of Division I Central Section titles)," Clarke said. "They will have an extreme competitive advantage because of that system. It's going to be tough to overcome."
But mostly, coaches' concerns come from what happens to kids who won't even be allowed to take the field anymore.
"You hate to see a kid get a dream cut short because they had to take something away," Mills said.
"But with the economic situation we're all in, something's got to budge somewhere. There's going to be something taken away, and to leave athletics alone, it wouldn't be right. Everybody needs to get an education, and we've got to keep the school system rolling," Mills said.
TRUSTEE DISCUSSION
Trustee Bill Perry said the JV sports cut would still enable schools to "grab the 9th graders when they get there."
"Obviously you do not want to cut your entire sports program. If you have to cut something, it should be JV," said Perry, who years ago coached East High's freshman/sophomore football team.
"There is going to be a lot of pain, but of all the kinds of pain we can experience, which is most tolerable?" asked Trustee Chad Vegas.
Vegas said his main concern was "majorly gutting" the summer school budget in 2010-11, and the effect it would have on graduation rates.
"That program is what picks up kids that fail during the year," said Vegas, who asked the administration to provide a more accurate projection at the July 2 meeting about the effect of the reduction.
As painful as next year's cuts may be, given the state's economic situation the district is considering $13 million in cuts in each the following two years, including more teacher layoffs.
