Changes save district middle school sports
July 1, 2009
By Laura Geggel
Middle school sports and clubs are here to stay, albeit with a few changes.
After two months of meeting with principals, coaches and parents, and researching programs in other districts, Snoqualmie Valley Assistant Superintendent Don McConkey unveiled a plan that would allow interscholastic sports to stay for a price tag of $339,527 at a school board meeting June 25.
The new model institutes a pay-to-play fee and reduces the number of sporting contests students will compete in next year. It also restructures the student-coach ratio, which means parent volunteers will have to fill various coaching positions.
To save on costs, the district will only provide one-way transportation to sporting events. This past year, the district paid bus drivers for the layover time between taking students to and from games.
The district assessed several pay to play fees, before implementing costs of $100 for football players and $50 for other activities, including jazz and drama, and $35 for all before- or after-school clubs. Additionally, students will pay $15 more for their ASB cards this year.
Homework club will not receive funding. McConkey said the district is currently researching if ASB funds could support the program.
The district hopes to offer scholarships for students unable to afford the pay-to-play policy. At the Fall City Days basketball tournament in June, organizers raised about $1,500 of scholarship money for student extracurricular activities. More fundraising, however, will have to take place.
Coaches will feel another cut. The Snoqualmie Coaches and Activities Association agreed to take a 20 percent pay cut for its 2008-11 contract. For instance, a first-year middle school athletic director earning $2,725 per season in 2008-09 will lose $545 next year. A director with 10 years of experience making $4,282 per season in 2008-09 will earn about $856 less next year.
These stipends do not include 21 percent of benefits received by coaches, Snoqualmie Valley schools spokeswoman Carolyn Malcolm said.
Club advisors, who are paid an annual stipend, will receive the same salary they did this year.
Snoqualmie Middle School teacher and coach Jerry Hillburn, who has coached for more than 30 years, said he was grateful the district had found a way to salvage its sports program in spite of the budget crunch.
“Everybody understands that we’re going through difficult economic times,” Hillburn said. “Truthfully, everybody is going to have to sacrifice some, including kids and parents and coaches and schools in order to maintain these programs.”
Hillburn described the importance of sports. During his years coaching football, girls and boys basketball and track, he has seen many students work harder in the classroom so they can compete on the field.
“The only accountability that we really have anymore for kids’ performance in middle school is sports, because it’s an extrinsic motivator,” Hillburn said. “You can’t play unless your grades are okay. I have seen lots of times where kids who didn’t do well in school would change their behavior and school performance because they wanted to play.”
Hillburn related a story of a former track student who told Hillburn of the difference the coach had made in his life.
“He told me that I had had a positive effect on his life,” Hillburn said. “The gratitude he expressed to me and the affection he had for me after all of these years was so touching. That’s why I coach.”
The district is not yet finished making cuts. At the June 25 school board meeting, it laid off five classified staff. More decisions regarding reductions for classified staff, secretaries and custodians will be discussed at the July 9 school board meeting.
Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.
Comments
One Response to “Changes save district middle school sports”
Got something to say?
[...] The rest is here: Changes save district middle school sports : The SnoValley Star … [...]