High School Athletics
So a friend of mine asked if I wanted to join him in his attempt to pressure the local school district to add athletics to the new high school ahead of schedule. In the master plan, additional enrollment (headcount = money) will be needed to support the additional costs. I was pretty pleased with my response, so I thought I would post it here.
Needless to say, he wasn't interested in my help...
I appreciate your willingness to be involved and become part of the process of developing our school district. I will gladly volunteer to be a part of this task force. However, I not sure my thoughts on the subject will align with goal and/or timeline. Allow me to explain.
While I wholeheartedly agree strong athletic programs add to the appeal of school districts, I do not feel they should be the top priority of any educational system. The addition of a second high school provides some exciting opportunities to our district in the form of smaller class sizes, more academic and vocational opportunities and a high level of technology to name a few. In my opinion, the district’s resources should be concentrated more on further development of these opportunities.
As you are aware, the housing market is somewhat flat and there are many homes for sale within our school district. This leaves much to chance regarding the financing of existing programs in the coming years.
The cost of adding comparable athletic offerings at the new high school will put a huge financial burden on our district. As you know, it’s an “all or nothing” proposal. Here are just a few big ticket items that would add to our district’s operational costs;
1) Additional coaching staff. As many as 70, based on Ron Allen’s presentation to Task Force last year.
2) Additional Transportation Costs. My elementary pays almost $4,000 per year to transport 2nd and 4th graders back and forth to the high school for swim lessons.
3)Additional athletic equipment required. Game and practice equipment, uniforms, etc.
Cost of officials.
The sum total of these could put a strain on any reserves our district requires to meet payroll and other obligations.
In your email, you mention you would rather have 20 kids try out for 15 spots rather than 40. In the end, you’ll still have ten kids that don’t make the team. What happens when your child is number 16? Will there be a push for three sets of athletic programs? Where does it end?
Should we follow the Zeeland model? What school would you want to be aligned with? The high school with the stronger football program, or basketball program? The better swim team, or competitive cheer team? How do you control school of choice requests and avoiding the stacking of teams?
I truly hope our district continues to grow and we will one day be able to support two comparable athletic programs. Until such time, I’m of the opinion we should develop an intramural program that will give many more children the opportunity to compete short of the varsity level. Development of a solid intramural program would also support that 16th athlete mentioned above on both campuses.
You still want me on your team?
Needless to say, he wasn't interested in my help...
I appreciate your willingness to be involved and become part of the process of developing our school district. I will gladly volunteer to be a part of this task force. However, I not sure my thoughts on the subject will align with goal and/or timeline. Allow me to explain.
While I wholeheartedly agree strong athletic programs add to the appeal of school districts, I do not feel they should be the top priority of any educational system. The addition of a second high school provides some exciting opportunities to our district in the form of smaller class sizes, more academic and vocational opportunities and a high level of technology to name a few. In my opinion, the district’s resources should be concentrated more on further development of these opportunities.
As you are aware, the housing market is somewhat flat and there are many homes for sale within our school district. This leaves much to chance regarding the financing of existing programs in the coming years.
The cost of adding comparable athletic offerings at the new high school will put a huge financial burden on our district. As you know, it’s an “all or nothing” proposal. Here are just a few big ticket items that would add to our district’s operational costs;
1) Additional coaching staff. As many as 70, based on Ron Allen’s presentation to Task Force last year.
2) Additional Transportation Costs. My elementary pays almost $4,000 per year to transport 2nd and 4th graders back and forth to the high school for swim lessons.
3)Additional athletic equipment required. Game and practice equipment, uniforms, etc.
Cost of officials.
The sum total of these could put a strain on any reserves our district requires to meet payroll and other obligations.
In your email, you mention you would rather have 20 kids try out for 15 spots rather than 40. In the end, you’ll still have ten kids that don’t make the team. What happens when your child is number 16? Will there be a push for three sets of athletic programs? Where does it end?
Should we follow the Zeeland model? What school would you want to be aligned with? The high school with the stronger football program, or basketball program? The better swim team, or competitive cheer team? How do you control school of choice requests and avoiding the stacking of teams?
I truly hope our district continues to grow and we will one day be able to support two comparable athletic programs. Until such time, I’m of the opinion we should develop an intramural program that will give many more children the opportunity to compete short of the varsity level. Development of a solid intramural program would also support that 16th athlete mentioned above on both campuses.
You still want me on your team?
posted by The LaceDog at 6:55 PM
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