Can the community save JV sports?
| Tuesday, Jun 30 2009 06:53 PM
Last Updated Tuesday, Jun 30 2009 07:35 PM
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MORE ON THE CUTS
Last week's proposal was to drop district sports from three to two levels in football, basketball, softball, baseball and volleyball. Cutting the JV level would save the district $430,000 per year in coaches' salaries. Additional fees provided by student body fees (generated through yearbooks sales and concessions) also support sports.
OTHER CUTS ON THE TABLE THURSDAY:
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
GET INVOLVED
The board will vote on the cuts 8:30 a.m. Thursday at 5801 Sundale Ave. in Bakersfield.
Here's how to reach the trustees:
President Joel Heinrichs, 324-4291
Board member Bryan Batey, 588-2200
Board member Ken Mettler, 549-6715
Board member Bill Perry, 871-5159
Board member Chad Vegas, 333-1995
Kern High School District office: 827-3100
MORE ON THE CUTS
Last week's proposal was to drop district sports from three to two levels in football, basketball, softball, baseball and volleyball. Cutting the JV level would save the district $430,000 per year in coaches' salaries. Additional fees provided by student body fees (generated through yearbooks sales and concessions) also support sports.
OTHER CUTS ON THE TABLE THURSDAY:
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
GET INVOLVED
The board will vote on the cuts 8:30 a.m. Thursday at 5801 Sundale Ave. in Bakersfield.
Here's how to reach the trustees:
President Joel Heinrichs, 324-4291
Board member Bryan Batey, 588-2200
Board member Ken Mettler, 549-6715
Board member Bill Perry, 871-5159
Board member Chad Vegas, 333-1995
Kern High School District office: 827-3100
Images:
Casey Christie / The Californian Bakersfield High School football player and wrestler, sophomore, Silas Nacita works on a tire drill during cross fitness training at noon this summer on the school campus. Some JV sports may be cut in the next week or two due to the budget crisis.
Casey Christie / The Californian Bakersfield High School athlete, sophomore Silas Nacita works with a medicine ball during the school summer program of cross fitness training on campus offered to all athletes. JV programs are currently in jeopardy due to the budget crisis.
Casey Christie / The Californian Bakersfield High School football player and wrestler, sophomore, Silas Nacita works on a tire drill during cross fitness training at noon this summer on the school campus. Some JV sports may be cut in the next week or two due to the budget crisis.
The Kern High School District tapped into a live wire of emotional current when it proposed dropping junior varsity sports next year.
Talk of the cuts sparked a flurry of suggestions about how JV programs could be funded, either by donations or a "pay-to-play" system.
But saving JV sports in the midst of a historic state budget crunch is a long shot -- and some of the ideas aren't doable.
The JV sports cut would save $430,000 in coaching stipends, part of $3.7 million in recently proposed cuts. That's on top of $20 million already made this year.
The Board of Trustees will cast an advisory vote on the latest proposed cuts Thursday, though board member Ken Mettler said he will raise the question of delaying the JV sports cut for one year because of the lack of advance notice about it.
THE IDEAS
"Everyone that calls says it's all that people in the community are talking about," said Paul Golla, head football coach at Bakersfield High School.
One idea floating around is a district-wide JV sports fund supported by car washes; another is the sale of "Bakersfield sports" stickers. Fireworks sales, snack bar receipts and carpools also have been suggested.
Pooling athletic coach stipends and dividing the pie so JV coaches could stay on is another idea.
So is a club sports model with teams attached to high schools, so players could practice even if they weren't playing.
And there is pay-to-play.
"What about a rental fee, like going roller skating? You rent the skates, and turn them back in when you're done?" asked Kurt Wingate, a physical therapist who works with KHSD athletes. He predicted dropping 25 percent of the program would be the death of sports in Kern because teams wouldn't be able to compete with stronger districts like Fresno or Clovis.
Low-income students would be eligible to draw on a district "general" sports fund generated by fundraising, Wingate suggested.
REALITY
Many of the ideas are flawed.
Pay-to-play violates state Department of Education code that requires equal access for all students.
Having teams affiliated with schools, but not coached by district-hired coaches, brings up the question of liability, KHSD Superintendent Don Carter said.
And there's limited time to fundraise enough to match the $430,000 cut.
The district covers coaching stipends, but additional funds, including student body fees and principal's school site budgets, also cover costs for JV sports officials, transportation, uniforms and custodial services, said Carter.
"At what point do we sacrifice core curriculum and programs that lead to a diploma?" asked Carter, who coached high school tennis.
Board President Joel Heinrichs didn't shut down the possibility of the community helping to find a solution.
"If we can figure out some clever way to do it, great," Heinrichs said.
TOUGH CUTS
BHS parent Jimmy Green said a lot of parents would be willing to donate to keep JV sports programs running.
Green said if it hadn't been for football and track and the C grade average required to play sports, he wouldn't have graduated from Foothill High in 1983.
"I would have been on the street, selling drugs," said Green.
In football, the district doesn't limit the number of players on teams.
That means some sophomores would move up to varsity and some would move down, so everyone would practice but not necessarily play, said Golla.
But the no-cut policy doesn't extend to every JV sport.
So we're going to tell one-third of these kids they can't play, said Harlan Shanklin, BHS' JV baseball coach.
Last year a junior on Shanklin's JV squad showed up every day for practice, started a couple games, and was voted inspirational player of the year.
"That's the kid we're getting rid of," Shanklin said.
BEEN HERE BEFORE
There is precedent for creating an alternative for JV sports.
In the early 1990s, a declining budget forced the district to cut sports to two levels, said longtime board member Bryan Batey.
"Coaches just had a scrimmage for other kids on a weekend. Kids got to participate, and the top teams found a way to run the program," Batey said.
"Kids that need to be served will be served," Batey predicted.
