PrepSportsNet

High School Athletics: Where Budget Balancers Fear to Tread?

2011-09-08T15:56:00.004-04:00

With Texas public schools facing cuts of as much as $10 billion in state funding, predictions of the consequences have been dire: teacher layoffs in the six figures, bigger class sizes, fewer instructional days, slashed support for at-risk students. One topic conspicuously absent from the conversation: athletics. Are lawmakers and school boards fearful of treading on the hallowed turf of high school football?

Perhaps, but the unhappy answer, at least for gridiron lovers, is that nothing is safe — not even sports in the land of Taj Mahal stadiums. And despite the spendthrift reputation of Texas high school football programs, districts have less money to save in eliminating them than you might think.

That’s because of the way the state structures athletics programs in public schools. In Texas, a recently changed law allows students who play an after-school sport to receive class credit for practicing during school hours. If kids are occupied during the school day with an athletic period and a district decides to eliminate the sport they play, they still must go somewhere — and that means using up additional resources finding extra classrooms and teachers.

"You take 100 kids and instead of one coach you have four teachers, because you've only got a class size of about 24 or 28, so you don't save much money by eliminating the sport if you still have kids in the program," says Tim Carroll, spokesman for Allen Independent School District, a northern exurb of Dallas.

Defenders of public school athletics also point out that coaching is rarely a full-time job. Many coaches, if they aren’t employed in the administrative role of athletic directors, are also teachers. They receive stipends, usually a few thousand dollars a year, to compensate for the extra time they spend outside of the classroom with their teams. Doing away with or reducing the extra money teachers receive for time spent coaching — and running other activities like yearbook, band and art — is likely as schools look at what they can and can’t afford, says Gwendolyn Santiago, the executive director of the Texas Association of School Business Officials.

According to data from the Texas Education Agency, in the 2009-10 school year, about 2.4 percent of districts’ general operating expenses were spent on extracurricular activities, including athletics. That comes out to about $157 per student. In comparison, districts spent $787 per student on academic support programs for underachieving children and $274 per student spent on bilingual and ESL education.

In San Antonio’s Northside ISD, the state’s fourth largest district, Athletics Director Stan Laing says his department has already cut 8 percent of its budget to get through the remainder of the school year. For next year, the district may cut back on travel and equipment expenses and, yes, stipends. But Laing says the district will investigate how it could generate more revenue through sporting events, and he says that money isn’t necessarily poured back into athletics.

“All that money — it doesn't come back to athletics. It goes into the general fund, and then obviously those monies are used where needed anywhere in the district,” he says. That's typical in districts across the state.

Charging students fees for equipment and uniforms and getting rid of sports programs with limited participation are other options for districts. But schools will have to waive those fees for students who can’t afford them — not a small consideration in Texas, where almost 60 percent of students qualify as economically disadvantaged.

As for eliminating programs, schools will have to be very careful to make sure they don’t violate Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex educational programs and activities, including sports. When schools make broad funding reductions across sports programs, they need to ensure that they aren’t creating inequalities or exacerbating existing ones between the sexes, says Neena Chaudhry, a lawyer who handles Title IX issues with the National Women’s Law Center, or else they may find themselves with a lawsuit on their hands — like Florida did in 2009, when parents sued after the state high school sports association reduced the number of games scheduled for all sports except football. Their case has since been settled out of court.

“If you make cuts across the board, in many districts it's still a problem because girls are starting at a disadvantage,” she says.

If schools are tempted to insulate football from the budget crisis, it’s because the sport is one of the few, and in many cases only, that brings in money for districts through sales of tickets to games, sponsorships and concessions. That can be enough revenue to sustain it and other programs, according to Santiago. And though palatial stadiums like the $60 million one Allen ISD recently began building contribute to the perception that schools are overspending on sports programs, they are financed through bond initiatives, separate from the money districts must divvy up among programs each year. (Allen’s was part of a $120 million package that passed 63 percent to 37 percent in 2009.)

Districts won’t know how the budget cuts will hit them or how badly until the end of the legislative session. But if they go as deep as $10 billion, it’s likely no program will escape unscathed. “If the Legislature adopted the initial figures from the House, then all programs would be under scrutiny,” says Kelli Durham, a spokeswoman for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD in Harris County, the third largest district in the state. “Because it would take more than eliminating one program to make the cuts.”

It’s a refrain parents, teachers and students are hearing across the state — and an unpleasant forecast of the future.

Gerard Hetman Commentary: Cut high school sports funding? Don’t overlook benefits.

2011-09-08T15:49:00.003-04:00

By Gerard Hetman

WHAT BETTER thing for kids to do with their “spare” time than after-school athletics?

That’s the question I ask as I read about people urging area school districts to cut middle school and high school sports funding in the face of budget shortfalls.

As of this writing, talks about cutting back on sports funding are ongoing in the Pittston Area and Hazleton Area school districts. As other districts seek to shape their budgets, similar discussions surely will pop up.

When talk turns to slashing costs, sports is frequently the first item on the agenda. For some parents, athletics represent an investment in programs from which their kids will never benefit, and that only a small percentage of students enjoy. It’s always the same rallying cry: Privatize high school sports! If kids want to play, make their parents pay!

But let’s back up a second. Have these critics ever stopped to think of the many children and adolescents who benefit from interscholastic sports programs?

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, 7,628,377 high school students participated in interscholastic athletics during the 2009-2010 school year. Compared with other states, Pennsylvania ranks sixth in terms of total number of high school student-athletes, with 317,456 boys and girls, behind only Texas, California, New York, Illinois and Ohio.

What I see in those numbers are hundreds of thousands of young people involved in an activity that builds character, teaches discipline and commitment, and promotes physical fitness. In my book, those are the kinds of lessons that our schools should be teaching, and that you can’t always learn in a classroom.

Sure, you can say that if parents want their students to participate in sports, they should be financing the endeavor. But I would argue that the funds provided by school districts for sports are a worthwhile investment.

As an example, I point to my best friend, who I will call C.J. Through his participation in sports in high school, C.J. was well-prepared to follow his dream of becoming a Pennsylvania state policeman. As I write this commentary, I know that he is out on patrol with fellow troopers across the commonwealth, making sure we have a safe and peaceful place in which to live and work.

There are certainly many other elements that have gone into C.J.’s success over the years, but participation in sports was a big part of it. And certainly not everyone who participates in sports is guaranteed to develop into a productive citizen. Sadly, some of our former teammates might wind up on the wrong end of C.J.’s job in the years to come.

But, as I see it, the positive aspects that students have the chance to gain from sports far outweigh the negatives.

While some teenagers are harassing pedestrians on Wilkes-Barre’s Public Square, smoking cigarettes or getting involved in more troubling activities, high school sports serve as a way for students to channel their energy productively. They teach teamwork. They promote school spirit. And they help kids attain physical fitness goals that promote healthy living.

I’m not saying that high school sports should be exempt from possible cuts. In fact, there are many areas of cost-savings that can be explored when it comes to athletics. But I am bothered when parents and students point at the athletics program as a whole and view it as a big, fat target.

After all, the all-too-common alternative is for students to hang out on the corner, right?

High School Athletic Directors Brainstorm Alternative Funding Methods

2011-09-08T15:42:00.002-04:00

By Stephanie Loh, The Patriot News

There is no need to panic – Midstate athletic directors say they will do everything in their power to trim budgets without cutting sports programs. And at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Directors Association conference last week, they brainstormed ways to do so.

"We are looking at ways to slash budgets, and the thing people have to understand is that in a school budget, the most impact athletics might have on a budget is maybe 1.5 percent," Hershey athletic director Sam Elias said. "When schools are have 50 to 60 percent of a student body participating in sports and it's costing the community 1.5 percent, that's a very good return."

Still, PSASA Executive Director Bob Buckanavage says it's become evident that high school athletic departments can no longer rely on local taxpayer funds.

"I think education in general, and athletics specifically, needs to take on more of a business view in how we go about budgets and revenue sources and streams," Buckanavage said.

Aside from streamlining and combining transportation routes, and ordering less equipment, here are some funding models high school athletic departments could incorporate in the immediate future:

Activity fees

This isn't a new concept, some schools, such as Palmyra and Greencastle-Antrim, are already using the pay-to-play model. And the private schools have always charged a fee for athletics. Bishop McDevitt students pay $75 for the first sport, $50 for the second sport, and the third sport is free. More schools will likely adopt this practice soon.

Corporate sponsors

Athletic directors are now taking a page out of the books of their collegiate counterparts and soliciting funds from corporate sponsors.

More than ever before, schools are forging relationships with local businesses to help fund athletic programs, and we could also see more athletic facilities starting to sell their naming rights to the highest bidder.

"Athletic directors have to now do marketing too," Mechanicsburg's Andie Teeter said. "It's kind of hard because you have to be careful who your sponsors are – you can't have a beer distributor, or the restaurant with a bar, or cigarette companies. You have to be careful who you market to."

Self funding

Now in its fourth season of existence, boys lacrosse is a varsity sport at Mechanicsburg High School, but it is funded entirely by its booster club.

According to booster club president Kit Conner, the program runs on an annual budget of $15,00 to $20,000, which includes transportation costs, referee fees for home games, equipment, uniforms, and coaches salaries.

The booster club is charged which raising all the money, which then goes into a school district account under the supervision of the athletic department.

The group relies heavily on fundraisers, concession stand takings, and corporate sponsorships, but even then, the start-up cost per player is still a little higher than for a school-funded varsity sport, such as basketball.

Numbers at a glance: What a parent could expect to pay for one kid's participation in

Mechanicsburg boys basketball (school funded varsity sport) vs. Mechanicsburg boys lacrosse (self-funded varsity sport)

Basketball:

$100-$125: includes membership in the booster club and a raffle (for things such as senior recognition and pictures). This fee is expected, but according to Conner, single parents with financial constraints could consider it optional because this parent's payment is not required for team membership.

Lacrosse:

Minimum $300: Mandatory $150 up front for RaffleLax tickets (which the player can then sell if he chooses), $150 for basic, discounted equipment.

The Herald Banner (Greenville, TX) - GISD facing $500,000 Budget Deficit

2011-08-09T11:51:00.000-04:00

By CAROL FERGUSON Herald-Banner Staff

GREENVILLE — Despite more than $1 million in budget cuts, the Greenville Independent School District is facing a budget deficit of approximately $500,000 for the 2010-11 fiscal year.

The Greenville ISD Board of Trustees conducted a workshop Tuesday afternoon, during which time the district’s chief financial officer, David Carter, gave a presentation regarding the 2010-11 budget.

Carter informed the board of the district’s 2010-11 budget goals, which include a balanced budget, reducing costs as far away from classrooms and students as possible, the continual review of staffing levels and the implementation of the strategic action plans approved by the board earlier this year.

“We are trying to cut as far away from kids and succesful programs as possible,” said Superintendent Don Jefferies.

Administrators are proposing an unchanged Maintenance and Operations (M&O) tax rate of $1.04 per $100 valuation, in addition to an Interest and Sinking (I&S) tax rate of $0.1548 per $100 valuation. The I&S is an increase of approximately $0.01 from the 2009-10 rate due to a decreased tax collection percentage.

The budget also factors in a state mandated pay increase for teachers and a proposed three percent pay increase for some administrators and all support staff, which includes aides, maintenance workers, bus drivers and custodial staff.

Without factoring in the pay increases for employees, the district is projected to have revenues of $32,720,561 and expenditures of $33,020,833 — equating to a deficit of approximately $300,272.Carter and Jefferies also detailed more than $1 million in budget cuts to reduce the deficit.

Budget cuts totaling $1,015,666 include: Re-locating Travis Elementary to the Sixth Grade Center, a five percent decrease in campus budgets, re-aligned central office and transportation staff and the attrition of vacant positions.

“We are trying to be as lean as we can with as good of people as we can get,” said Jefferies.

Trustee Anne Haynes, who presided over the meeting in the absence of Board President Charles Sivley, said the proposed 2010-11 budget was the leanest she has seen since serving on the board.

“It is one of the leanest budgets that accomplishes the most.

However, Haynes said the board would eventually have to consider a tax ratification election.

The district is expected to receive the certified tax roll from the Hunt County Appraisal District on July 25.

The next budget workshop is scheduled for July 27, during which time the board is expected to set the date for the public hearing regarding the budget and tax rate. Administrators have recommended that the public hearing and adoption of the budget and tax rate take place on Aug. 17.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

2011-08-07T12:49:00.000-04:00

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=1214

K-12 Education and Other Childhood Education Programs

At least 30 states and the District of Columbia have implemented cuts to K-12 education.

Arizona eliminated preschool for 4,328 children, funding for schools to provide additional support to disadvantaged children from preschool to third grade, aid to charter schools, and funding for books, computers, and other classroom supplies. The state also halved funding for kindergarten, leaving school districts and parents to shoulder the cost of keeping their children in school beyond a half-day schedule.

California reduced K-12 aid to local school districts by billions of dollars and is cutting a variety of programs, including adult literacy instruction and help for high-needs students.

Colorado has reduced public school spending in FY 2011 by $260 million, nearly a 5 percent decline from the previous year. The cut amounts to more than $400 per student.

Georgia cut state funding for K-12 education for FY 2011 by $403 million or 5.5 percent. The cut has led the state’s board of education to exempt local school districts from class size requirements to reduce costs.

Hawaii shortened the current school year by 17 days and is furloughing teachers for those days.

Illinois reduced funding for early childhood education by 10 percent, which could cause as many as 10,000 children to lose eligibility.

Maryland cut professional development for principals and educators, as well as health clinics, gifted and talented summer centers, and math and science initiatives.

Michigan cut its FY 2010 school aid budget by $382 million, resulting in a $165 per-pupil spending reduction.

Mississippi cut its FY 2010 funding for K-12 education by 9.5 percent, mostly out of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program established to bring per-pupil spending up to adequate levels in every district.

Massachusetts cut Head Start, universal pre-kindergarten programs, and early intervention services to help special-needs children develop appropriately and be ready for school. The state also cut K-12 funding, including for mentoring, teacher training, reimbursements for special education residential schools, services for disabled students, and programs for gifted and talented students.

New Jersey cut funding for afterschool programs aimed to enhance student achievement and keep students safe between the hours of 3 and 6 p.m. The cut will likely cause more than 11,000 students to lose access to the programs and 1,100 staff workers to lose their jobs.

Rhode Island cut state aid for K-12 education and reduced the number of children who can be served by Head Start and similar services.

Virginia’s $700 million in cuts for the coming biennium include the state’s share of an array of school district operating and capital expenses and funding for class-size reduction in kindergarten through third grade. In addition, a $500 million reduction in state funding for some 13,000 support staff such as janitors, school nurses, and school psychologists from last year’s budget was made permanent.

Washington suspended a program to reduce class sizes and provide professional development for teachers; the state also reduced funding for maintaining 4th grade student-to-staff-ratios by $30 million.

State education grants to school districts and education programs have also been cut in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, and Utah.

New York Times - State Senate, Trying to Trim Deficit, Offers Budget Plan Cutting $1.4 Billion From Schools

2011-08-07T12:44:00.000-04:00

By JEREMY W. PETERS

ALBANY — School financing, a perennial third rail of state politics, would be cut by $1.4 billion under a plan put forward on Monday by Senate Democrats trying to plug a budget deficit estimated at $9 billion.

The resolution the Senate passed constituted a grab bag from the $134 billion budget Gov. David A. Paterson introduced in January. It cut in many of the same areas the governor had, but also restored many of the reductions he had called for and rejected his most prominent revenue proposals.

The plan, which also counts on $700 million from the refinancing of tobacco bonds, was the Legislature’s first step toward laying out its own budget; it has a deadline of March 31. The Assembly is expected to adopt its own spending plan later this week.

Though the budget that ends up on Mr. Paterson’s desk could look quite different, Mr. Paterson praised the broad outlines of the Senate Democrats’ plan, which was adopted on a straight party-line vote.

“We are pleased to see that the Senate, for the most part, accepts the deficit reductions that we have made,” Mr. Paterson said Monday during an appearance at City Hall.

Senate Democrats, however, did not include the governor’s plans to tax sugary drinks, to raise the cigarette tax by $1, to $3.75, or to allow grocery stores to sell wine.

Their plan would leave spending for state parks at levels high enough that none would have to be closed and it would avoid deep cuts to the State University of New York and City University of New York systems.

But the plan essentially accepts the governor’s proposed education cuts, though it would distribute them differently — a move that was greeted with surprise in the halls of the Capitol, where teachers’ unions and public school lobbyists have long wielded great influence.

“It underscores the severity of the state’s budget problems that they are willing to accept a school aid cut,” said Edmund J. McMahon, director of the Empire Center for New York State Policy, a conservative-leaning research group. “Even they know you need to do this. And that’s a pretty significant thing.”

Democrats said they understood the significance of calling for such deep cuts to public schools, characterizing them as painful but unavoidable.

Asked why education, along with health care, was being singled out for cuts, Senator Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat, replied, “Because that’s where the money is.”

Whether those cuts would be included in the final budget passed by the Legislature was not clear. Senator John L. Sampson, leader of the Senate Democratic conference, said the budget resolution was merely a first step meant to jump-start the negotiation process.

“There will be a dialogue,” Mr. Sampson said. “This is just a resolution. This is a road map to where we want to go.”

Just last week, a group of 15 senators wrote to Mr. Paterson, telling him they would not support a budget that included spending reductions for schools.

In their plan, Senate Democrats also proposed cutting health care spending by about $641 million. That is less than the $1 billion reduction Mr. Paterson called for, but still amounts to an overall reduction of 1.3 percent to the Health Department’s budget. The department’s total budget would be $55.9 billion.

Advocates for public school teachers and administrators reacted with outrage to the Democrats’ plan.

The New York State School Boards Association estimated that it could cost 14,000 teachers their jobs.

Ernest Logan, president of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, called the plan “unconscionable.”

Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, said it would result in deteriorating conditions at New York City schools, just as the financial crisis of the 1970s had. “The Senate’s proposal is a disaster in the making for the children in New York’s public schools,” Mr. Mulgrew said.

Others had different reasons for disliking the plan. Some found the Democrats’ budget had a too-good-to-be-true ring to it. “How did we balance this budget by restoring all these wonderful things?” asked Senator John A. DeFrancisco, a Republican from the Syracuse area. “Well, simple answer: It’s not balanced.”

A caption in an earlier version of this article mistakenly identified Senator John L. Sampson as John L. Sann.

Chicago Sun-Times: CPS to borrow $800M, boost teacher pay 4%

2010-07-07T12:33:00.002-04:00

CPS to borrow $800M, boost teacher pay 4%

June 12, 2010

BY ROSALIND ROSSI Education Reporter

Chicago Public Schools officials revealed Friday that they plan to borrow up to $800 million to pay their bills -- even as they pledged to give teachers a promised 4 percent pay hike, a move designed to head off a strike.

CPS revealed its latest plans on how to confront its record deficit within hours of teachers concluding their vote on whether Chicago Teachers Union President Marilyn Stewart or challenger Karen Lewis, a King College Prep teacher, should lead them through tough times ahead. Election results are expected early today.

CPS announced plans for a special School Board meeting Tuesday to take up the borrowing, teacher raises and a controversial plan to raise class size for the first time since Mayor Daley's 1995 city school takeover.

One resolution at the meeting will indicate that the system "will be unable to balance its budget'' unless it increases class size from, on average, 30 students to "up to 35.'' About 2,700 teachers would be laid off as a result, at a savings of $125 million.

However, in another resolution, CPS officials say they expect to have the money to pay promised 4 percent raises to teachers and seven other unions, for a cost of $100 million.

If School Board members do not pass such a resolution by June 15, the teachers union could open talks that might lead to a strike.

"We can't risk the uncertainty of putting our kids in a situation where they may not be able to go back to school because there's a strike," a CPS official said. "You take that off the table by saying,
'We're going to fund the 4 percent [raise].'"

The union has not struck since Daley's school takeover. One CPS official said many parents still remember "how many strikes there used to be. ... We can't put our students through this."

Also Tuesday, board members are expected to approve a resolution allowing them to borrow up to $800 million to cover late payments from the state. A CPS official said the line of credit is intended to help pay bills in the face of $437 million in late state payments this school year and the possibility of similar problems next school year.

Gainesville (GA) Times - State School Budget Cuts could be Severe

2010-07-07T12:27:00.002-04:00

State school budget cuts could be severe.

Georgia’s $1.4 billion deficit could stifle operations

By Mitch Clarke mailto:Clarkemclarke@gainesvilletimes.com

POSTED March 12, 2010 12:31 a.m.

School systems across Georgia may be forced to close schools, fire teachers or raise taxes to offset mounting budget deficits, according to a scenario presented Thursday to the state Board of Education.

Georgia schools could be looking at as much as a $1.4 billion deficit in formula funding next year, money that is used to meet mandated class-size requirements and to pay teacher salaries.

In Hall County, this could mean $13 million less in state funding next year, said Superintendent Will Schofield.

At Thursday’s board meeting, state Superintendent Kathy Cox said local school systems may have to take unprecedented steps to balance their budgets.

Later Thursday, Gov. Sonny Perdue, acknowledging 15 straight months of state revenue declines, announced plans to cut an additional $342 million from his 2011 budget, which would include an additional $100 million from education.

Among the ideas discussed at the state level were increasing the size of classes, cutting salaries, furloughing teachers for 10 days and shortening the school year by five days. But officials said local officials still may be forced to close schools, lay off teachers, eliminate programs or raise taxes.

“People are going to have to realize that these cuts are huge and it will not be business as usual in education,” Cox said. “We can’t bury our heads in the sand and say we’re not hurting education.”

Both Schofield and Gainesville Superintendent Merrianne Dyer all but ruled out raising taxes as a way to offset the deficits.

“(Our school board) has been incredibly sensitive to the fact that our entire community is hurting,” Schofield said. “Raising taxes is as far down the list as we can get it.”

But both superintendents said other ideas — including making classes larger or letting teachers go — have to remain as options.

“We have to plan for the worst,” Dyer said.

The Hall County school board already has floated the idea of closing at least one school to save money.

School systems are facing these tough choices because state revenue continues to decline, down 9.9 percent in February.

Perdue’s initial proposed 2011 budget includes an $839 million deficit in school formula funding. It was not immediately clear how Perdue’s announcement that he would cut an additional $100 million in funding would impact local school budgets.

Scott Austensen, the state’s deputy superintendent for finance and business operations, told the state board prior to Perdue’s announcement that the governor’s revenue estimates could be high because he was factoring in a hospital bed tax and an increase in the tobacco tax — two ideas that face a skeptical legislature.

Austensen said the formula deficit could be as high as $1.5 billion, meaning schools, on average, would receive about $525 per student less in state funding next year.

“How in the world are schools systems supposed to operate a school with $525 less per student?” Cox asked.

Larry E. Winter, the 9th District representative on the school board, hopes parents understand how deep these cuts could go.

“What I’m taking away from this is the magnitude of what we are asking (school systems) to, along with us, jointly deal with,” Winter said. “These are major cuts that are going to affect everyone.”

One idea being floated is to reduce the number of days in the school year from 180 to 175. To accommodate 10 furlough days, teachers also would lose five planning days during the year.

Dyer said the Gainesville system, with a large number of inner-city children, will need to work with agencies such as the Boys & Girls Clubs and the YMCA to make such a plan work.

“We have to be careful not to overburden the agencies that take our children when we aren’t in session,” Dyer said. “We’d have to identify when we can (close for 5 days) to have the least impact on families.”

Both Dyer and Schofield remain optimistic that better days are head. They said the budget challenges give their system the opportunity to set priorities.

“We didn’t go looking for this crisis,” Schofield said. “It came and found us.”

The Los Angeles Times - More California School Districts on the Financial Brink

2010-07-07T12:25:00.001-04:00

June 29, 2010 5:02 pm

An increasing number of California school districts are edging closer to financial insolvency, state officials reported Tuesday.

One immediate effect has been the layoff of teachers — probably in the thousands, although neither state officials nor the California Teachers Assn. has final numbers.

Since the beginning of 2010, the number of school systems that may be “unable to meet future financial obligations” has increased by 38%, according to the state Department of Education.
“Schools on this list are now forced to make terrible decisions to cut programs and services that students need or face bankruptcy,” said state Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell.

Of the state’s 1,077 school districts, 14 are classified as in especially dire condition. They are not likely to avoid bankruptcy based on their current approved budgets. L.A. County has one such school system, the Lynwood Unified School District, officials said. Other districts in this category include Hayward Unified in Alameda County, Vallejo City Unified in Solano County and Natomas Unified in Sacramento County.

An additional 160 school systems have a “qualified” financial outlook, meaning they are at risk although probably not in danger of immediate bankruptcy. Districts in that situation in L.A. County include L.A. Unified, Burbank Unified, Culver City Unified, Glendale Unified, Inglewood Unified, Montebello Unified, Norwalk-La Mirada Unified, Pomona Unified, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified and South Pasadena Unified.

About 26,000 teachers received notice in March that they might be laid off, according to data collected by the CTA. At least 9,000 of these notices have been rescinded so far. Last year also brought teacher layoffs, leading to a decline of about 15,000 in the union membership. The state has about 300,000 teachers.

Non-teaching employees also have been hard hit. Thousands have lost jobs in Los Angeles Unified alone. Many of those still working have experienced pay cuts, while students have to deal with larger classes, a shorter school year and decreased services.

The education portion of the current budget proposal by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger could result in additional layoffs, although other sectors of governments have faced even steeper cuts.

-- Howard Blume

San Diego News Network - California Budget Crisis Diaries: Pink slippin’ teachers

2010-07-07T12:15:00.002-04:00

Posted By hoa.quach On March 16, 2010 @ 10:47 am In California Budget

As thousands of California teachers receive layoff notices, talks of education spending compared to prison spending, and health care reform continue in the Golden State.

If you happen to consider this just more somber news, check out SDNN’s coverage of St. Paddy Day’s events [1] and party your sorrows away. The spending could also help the California economy. (I’m joking, but not really.)

Until the revelry Wednesday though, here is your dose of CBCD.

21,905 pink slips have been handed out statewide before Tuesday’s legal deadline for districts to send preliminary layoff notices.

The biggest question is just how many teachers will actually be let go. Last year, 26,000 teachers received pink slips and about 60 percent of those people were eventually laid off.

This year’s final head count depends on the state budget to be adopted for the upcoming fiscal year.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell expects this year’s actual job losses to be high, given budget problems and a smaller pool of education stimulus money available from the federal government.

The state’s public schools employ nearly 307,000 K-12 teachers, according to the state Department of Education. About 7 percent of those teachers have received pink slips.
Prisons vs. Education: As California’s fiscal dilemma continues, talks of the prison budget compared to that of education continues. In a Tuesday rant by Dick Price on the online media Web site BeyondChron [2], he digs deeper into all the numbers. "To get a handle on the damage California’s current approach to incarceration is having on its citizens, consider this: In a recent 23-year period, California erected 23 prisons — one a year, each costing roughly $100 million dollars annually to operate, with both Democratic and Republican governors occupying the statehouse — at the same time that it added just one campus to its vaunted university system, UC Merced.”

Price also writes that the majority of other states have invested more into its education system than the Golden State. “Since the late 1970s, California has fallen from first in the nation in per-pupil spending, nearly to the bottom at number 48. With California’s annual budget falling from $103 billion three years ago to $80 billion currently during what’s often called the Great Recession, schools — including the world class University of California system — continue to face deep cuts in funding, fewer teaching positions, and a reduced ability to educate students.”
Uninsured Californians: A new UCLA study shows the number of uninsured Californians is climbing with the increase of layoffs and the deepening recession.

Appearing in The Los Angeles Times [3], the reporter writes a jump of nearly 2 million uninsured people in 2009 from two years ago. “Nearly 1 in 4 Californians under age 65 had no health insurance last year, according to a new report, as soaring unemployment propelled vast numbers of once-covered workers into the ranks of the uninsured.

The state’s uninsured population jumped to 8.2 million in 2009, up from 6.4 million in 2007, marking the highest number over the last decade, investigators from UCLA’s Center for Health Policy Research said.”

The Times reporter notes that though the federal leaders are pushing for health care reform, state officials may cut more to public health services.

“The new UCLA estimates arrive as President Obama and congressional Democrats scramble this week to finalize an agreement on healthcare reform. Democrats who are pressing the overhaul say it would expand health insurance to tens of millions of uninsured people across the country.

Yet even as leaders in Washington seek to expand coverage, California officials are wrestling with budget proposals by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to cut or eliminate publicly-funded insurance programs that critics say cover more than 2.5 million low-income children and their parents — some of whom lost coverage because of layoffs.”

Associated Press contributed to this report. Hoa Quach is the political editor. Follow her on Twitter [10] or add her on Facebook [11].

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Students, parents protest firing of Allatoona High teachers

2010-07-06T22:23:00.005-04:00

By John Spink and Rhonda Cook

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Friday, May 14, 2010

About five dozen students and parents, carrying posters and chanting, spoke Friday for the Allatoona High School teachers whose contracts won’t be renewed next term because of budget cutbacks.

They waved hand-made signs. They whooped and chanted “save our teachers” and cheered when passing cars honked. It was a peaceful demonstration held before classes started.

“We want to be the voice for them,” said Hope Manning, whose two children attend 2-year-old Allatoona.

Four of 15-year-old Ryan Manning’s eight teachers lost their jobs, including one who teaches physics and another who teaches history. Her daughter, Ashley, will lose her soccer coach.

“I believe this is a proper way to fight for our school and to fight for our teachers,” Ashley Manning, 16, said while standing in front of her school . “We had a lot of cuts and most of our coaches were cut. I’m hurt. I’m devastate. I can’t believe they would cut this many at Allatoonoa.”

More than a dozen Allatoona High School teachers -- including the head coaches of the school’s football, basketball, baseball and soccer teams -- were told earlier this week that their contracts would not be renewed.

"These education professionals deserved better because it’s not right to have to tell good employees they no longer have a job," said Jay Dillon, spokesman for the Cobb school system.

The Allatoona teachers are among 734 Cobb County school district employees -- including 579 teachers -- cut Wednesday when the Board of Education approved a $819.4 million budget. The school system was facing a $126.7 million deficit, much like financial problems hitting many Georgia schools.

" What we are experiencing is the effect of six years of austerity cuts by the state, and now those austerity cuts have been compounded by declining local property values," Dillon said. "An even bigger fear is that if economic conditions don’t improve soon, we could be in a similar, or worse, situation next year. We’re seeing some frustration and angst, and that’s understandable. We’ve lost a lot of really good educators."

Cindy Wilson’s son, Troy, is also losing half his teachers. “It’s cutting us deeply. It’s devastating,” Wilson said “It’s a new school. They brought a lot of these teachers on just to help build the program. They got us crawling. They got us walking a bit. And then they knocked our knees out from under us. It’s hurtful they are taking all our teachers.”

Mark Davis, a 16-year-old sophomore, said a Facebook page, Keeping Good Teachers in Cobb, was created just a day ago and it already has 500 followers.

Davis said several teacher-coaches went out of their way to take care of their students and athletes.

“This is wrong,” Davis said.

The Desert Sun - High school sports often leads to fond memories

2010-05-05T12:41:00.002-04:00

By Shad Powers, The Desert Sun

May 5, 2010 - Most of us who played high school sports have that one special memory.
For me it was scoring 15 points in a basketball game for Alma High School against hated rival St. Johns. For TV's Al Bundy it was when he scored four touchdowns for Polk High.

As we get older, those memories grow fonder and often more impressive — like the time I scored 25 points against St. Johns.

Well last Friday one of those moments happened for Indio High School softball player Cerila Zamarripa. No matter what she goes on to do in her life, she'll remember her moment at La Quinta High School and she'll remember the name Bryana Walker. Here's the back story for those not following the valley's high school softball scene.

La Quinta is an outstanding team, currently ranked No. 2 in its division, led by Walker, a senior flame-thrower who is a dominating force on the mound. How dominating you ask?

Well, in her first 10 Desert Valley League games, she allowed zero runs and pitched five no-hitters. La Quinta as a team hadn't allowed a run in 16 games, outscoring its opponents 143-0 during that stretch, including two shutouts of a very good Indio squad (3-0 and 4-0).

Put simply, Walker and her super-charged fastball were untouchable.
After two games and five innings of not much success against Walker, Zamarripa's moment came Friday night in the sixth inning.

With the game still tied 0-0, Indio's Desiree Chavez scratched out an infield single with two outs.

Zamarripa stepped to the plate. Walker unleashed the pitch.
“I saw it coming and it was a fastball,” Zamarripa said. “It was a great feeling just hitting the ball.”

She hit it all right. When she made contact, an audible gasp came from the 400 or so in attendance, not used to hearing a Walker pitch met so soundly.

She sent the ball flying toward the gap in left-centerfield. It one-hopped the wall. Chavez raced around to score. Indio had scored a run off Walker.
That's right. La Quinta yielded a run.

It was the first time since March 3. That's 59 days, 16 games, 117 innings and 353 outs with no runs scored. The streak was over.

Behind the stellar pitching of freshman Heather Morales, Indio not only scored a run, but won the game 1-0.

La Quinta is still all but certain to win the DVL regular season title and Indio is on pace to make the playoffs. Both teams are talented enough to make a deep run.
The senior Walker's amazing high school softball career will come to an end in the coming weeks. She is going to attend Princeton, so softball is clearly not her only area of expertise.

The sophomore Zamarripa has plenty more high school softball games in her future.
But no matter how many league titles and home runs and playoff victories she racks up, it's unlikely she'll ever forget her sixth-inning regular season at-bat against Bryana Walker on April 30, 2010.

And just like me with my 35-point outburst against St. Johns, Zamarripa can tell her grandkids about the time she got an incredible RBI double off of a future Olympian who had pitched 50 consecutive no-hitters.

Aren't memories grand.

Shad Powers is the assistant sports editor for The Desert Sun. He can be reached at (760) 778-4627 or at shad.powers@thedesertsun.com.

Sedona Red Rock News - School Sports Produce Better Citizens

2010-05-05T12:33:00.001-04:00

May 5, 2010 - In today’s world, money shortages and cutbacks have become more than just water-cooler talk between co-workers.

Teachers, administrators, educators and others have either lost their jobs, or been cut back to help balance the system again due to the silly funding our great state of Arizona gets for schools. No wonder we rank near the bottom in education.

One of the things on the chopping block in schools besides physical education classes, music, art and theater are sports programs.

Although nothing has come to fruition within the athletic departments around the state, or in the Verde Valley for that matter, the need to cut costs always rears its ugly head at athletic programs within our schools.

Let me assure you, however, this would be a bad move on Arizona’s local school boards and city councils.

According to a study done by the National Federation of State High School Associations, there are hundreds of case studies, research papers and documents pointing to a most important fact: Athletics and other forms of school activities are desperately needed.

Generally, to summarize the full extent of the research, students are generally more successful in school if involved in athletics.

Students with the highest classroom attendance are athletes and most have a better grade point average than their peers who don’t participate in sports at all.

Coaches hold their student-athletes accountable for all of the above and more — a higher standard one might say.

Students participating in athletics seem to be more socially involved in other programs besides the normal 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. class time at school. Also, those students who seem to be constantly in trouble with one, the school, or two, the law, or both, aren’t usually participating in athletics.

Now, it’s obvious those who watch the news on television or read it in the newspaper or online see troubled professional athletes’ faces posted all the time for their bad behavior. Sports are held at a higher profile usually, making it instant news.

Are you shaking your head yet?

Research conducted by Skip Dane of Hardiness Research in Casper, Wyo., revealed the following about participation in high school sports:

One, by a 2-to-1 ratio, boys who participate in sports do better in school, do not drop out and have a better chance to get through college. Two, the ratio for girls who participate in sports and do well in school is 3-to-1. Three, about 92 percent of sports participants do not use drugs. Four, school athletes are more self-assured. Five, sports participants take average and above-average classes. Six, sports participants receive above-average grades and perform above average on skills tests. Seven, student-athletes appear to have more parental involvement than other students.

If parents are more involved, it becomes harder for kids to do things they shouldn’t be doing.

A study of 75 Fortune 500 companies, done by the Colorado High School Activities Association, reveals 95 percent of corporate executives at the executive vice president level participated in sports during high school.

Nothing is ever black and white, but according to

S. Dinitz and B.A. Pfau-Vicent in “Self-Concept and Juvenile Delinquency,” a lack of participation in school activities, or sports for that matter, can be associated with a greater likelihood of involvement in delinquent behavior for high school students.

Mmm.

In the end, one can decide what they think about all of these studies, research and hours upon hours of testing that may mean nothing to the average person walking down the street. The fact remains that athletic programs in today’s schools mean a lot to many individuals.

I, for one, am one of those individuals. If it wasn’t for my high school coaches pushing me to do my best, pushing to get me involved in other people’s lives — if it wasn’t for sports, or basketball for that matter, which led me to college, which in turn led to a degree in journalism and a career in sports, writing and coaching, then I don’t know where I would be. That’s the truth.

Let me be case study number infinity.

In fact, making the point that athletics is important in schools may even bother some people, or upset them that such a study was done in the first place. Well, I bet those naysayers weren’t involved in athletics.

The Post-Standard (Syracuse NY) - North Syracuse school budget could cut 114 positions, sports teams, programs

2010-03-14T12:20:00.003-04:00

By Catie O'Toole, The Post-Standard

North Syracuse, NY -- The North Syracuse school district's preliminary budget calls for eliminating more than 114 positions, while increasing the tax rate by 3.3 percent in the coming school year, Superintendent Jerome Melvin announced at tonight's budget meeting.

All freshman sports teams, except for girl's volleyball and boy's football, would be cut.

An extended school day program (night school) at Cicero-North Syracuse High School, a summer job shadowing program that introduces C-NS students to careers in the medical field and a high school leadership program called Camp Oswegatchie also are among the proposed cuts.

Of the 114.5 positions that may be eliminated, 72.3 are in instruction; 3.1 are administrative; 15.5 are in special education; 22.6 are support staff; and one is an athletic trainer.

Under the instructional budget reductions, the district is proposing to eliminate 23.1 teaching positions at the elementary schools, 10.2 positions at the middle schools, 20 positions at North Syracuse Junior High School and 19 teaching positions at C-NS High School.

Other positions that may be cut include 6.6 music teachers, 5.5 special education teachers, two reading teachers and two teachers who train other teachers.

"I understand the economic realities of today, but it's a horrible thing because we're cutting into the fabric of education," said Sylvia Matousek, president of the North Syracuse Education Association.

At a meeting last month, school administrators said the $144,124,575 preliminary budget would have called for a 17.8 percent projected tax rate increase unless cuts were made because of a loss in revenue and an increase in expenditures.

The district was short $7.1 million in revenue, and its expenditures are up $5.7 million. Of that, $4 million is attributed to increased health insurance premiums and retirement system costs, Melvin said.

Teachers' retirement system rates are expected to increase by 63 percent, while employees' retirement system rates are set to jump 45 percent. Health insurance rates are projected to increase by 7.9 percent, the superintendent said.

Salaries also are up 2.3 percent, or $1,694,994, due to contractual obligations.

All of the cuts proposed tonight would save $6,430,935. The district also plans to use $2.5 million from its fund balance, $887,000 in IDEA/Title I stimulus monies and other revenues to balance the budget.

A 3.3 percent tax rate increase would result in a $66 higher tax bill on a home assessed at $100,000. Melvin said the preliminary budget does not account for an anticipated loss in county sales tax revenue totaling about $1 million, which could potentially increase the property tax rate by 4.8 percent.

School board president Pat V. Carbone asked residents to call the district clerk's office at 218-2131 to let the board know how the proposed tax rate increase would affect them.

"I really want to make sure that we do the best we possibly can for the students because next year it's going to be even worse," Carbone said. "It's not just a one-year fix."

Carbone said the federal stimulus money won't be available next year. Melvin also said the district expects to lose even more sales tax revenue next year, and the district's fund balance will have dropped significantly, to about $3 million.

"If we cut ourselves too much (in the 2010-11 budget), the fear is we won't have very much left to cut," Carbone said.

District Clerk Connie Gibson said the public will be able to speak about the budget at the next board meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. next Monday at the North Syracuse Junior High School, 5353 W. Taft Road, North Syracuse

Chicago Sun Times - It's crunch time for sports funding

2010-03-13T20:20:00.003-05:00

By Taylor Bell

March 13, 2010 - While most suburban school districts and their extensive sports programs were feeling the economic squeeze in the last few months, the Chicago Public Schools waited for the hammer to fall. And waited. And waited.

It fell earlier this week, with a loud thud.

Calvin Davis, director of the Public League’s sports administration, said the sophomore levels of all spring sports have been cut for the immediate future with the prospect that the cuts will continue in the fall and winter sports during the 2010-11 school year.

Unable to secure necessary funding from the state, CPS had to make drastic cuts across the board. The sports program was ordered to trim $500,000. Cutting the sophomore levels in all spring sports will impact 6,000 students and force CPS to drop 300 coaches.

Other school districts are feeling the pinch, too.

Maine Township’s three high schools are cutting 75 teachers, including four head coaches at East, while a new fieldhouse on the West campus and a new fitness/weight center, new gymnasium and a newly resurfaced track at South have been put on hold. And that’s only the beginning.

‘‘This is a cloud hanging over our heads,’’ said Maine South athletic director Steve Adams. ‘‘We need more help than ever. We have survived Year 1, but there are projected deficits for the next four years. More cuts are coming.’’

Voters in New Trier’s district overwhelmingly rejected a $174 million referendum for what was described as ‘‘significant construction’’ on the East and West campuses, including a new gym and an addition to the fieldhouse.

Lincoln-Way’s ever-expanding district — a fifth high school is in the works — also is facing a financial crisis. Last year, 48 paid coaching positions were trimmed. More cutbacks are anticipated. East’s football team has 10 paid coaches and 15 volunteers.

The four schools in the Glenbard district have been hard hit, too. Funding from the state was an all-time low this year. To compensate, each school was forced to jettison a couple of coaches. There is a fear that other projects, like new turf on a soccer/lacrosse field at West, might be in danger.

At Evanston, plans to build new locker rooms and a fieldhouse for indoor track and tennis were placed on the back burner. Instead of receiving the usual $2 million in funds to support the sports program, the school got only $50,000. All budgets for supplies have been frozen.

And Elgin, one of five schools in the state’s second-largest school district, has drained its swimming pool and canceled all Saturday night events. Coaching positions in softball and baseball have been cut from five to three. To avoid overtime for custodians, some events are scheduled for late mornings so students are out of the building by 3 p.m.

Highland Park athletic director Bobbie Monroe reported a loss of $25,000 in coaching stipends and three coaches. The school also co-ops with Deerfield in boys water polo. No further reductions going into next year are anticipated.

Facing tough economic times, high schools throughout the Chicago area are attempting to cope with the challenges of trimming staff, reducing budgets, cutting levels of sports and, in some cases, whole programs.

But a survey of more than 50 schools reveals that the economic blight isn’t as serious as you might suspect. In fact, there are schools that insist they never had it so good, that what happened on Wall Street hasn’t had a negative impact on Main Street in Hinsdale or South Holland or Aurora or Flossmoor or Crete-Monee.

Even so, there is a fear of what might happen in the near future.

‘‘We are fortunate, no cutbacks,’’ Hinsdale Central athletic director Paul Moretta said. ‘‘Our district did well to plan for the downturn in the economy, a lot of good fiscal responsibility.

‘‘But budgets are coming up. The ax could fall in the next few months. We have seen incidents where kids need more help with additional equipment and can’t afford it themselves. And our support clubs aren’t getting as much money as before from families.’’

District 205, which includes Thornton, Thornridge and Thornwood, suffered severe cutbacks from 2002 to 2007 — coaching stipends, freshman levels, ‘‘B’’ teams in football and boys basketball, more than a dozen assistant coaches — but Thornwood athletic director Gary Lagesse said the programs now are at full funding, new facilities have been added and coaching stipends have been reinstated.

‘‘Give a lot of credit to [district superintendent] Kamala Buckner,’’ Lagesse said. ‘‘At one time, we were $100 million in debt. Now we’re close to being solvent. She had a vision and led us through the crisis.’’

District 214, the state’s third-largest district with six high schools, seems to be thriving, too. But Prospect athletic director Tom Martindale admits that he isn’t so optimistic about the future.

‘‘The economy will affect us more in the next couple of years,’’ Martindale said. ‘‘Once the tax assessments come out, we’ll find out the volume of money is less coming into our school district, and decisions must be made.

‘‘At this point, we have had no cutbacks in coaches or levels. We’re waiting for the ‘if’ scenario.’’

But ‘‘if’’ has already happened at Maine South, East and West, at Elgin, Bartlett, Streamwood, Larkin and South Elgin, at Glenbard West, East, South and North, at Lincoln-Way Central, East, North and West, at St. Charles East and North, at New Trier, Evanston, Deerfield, Highland Park, Lake Zurich and elsewhere.

Lane Tech athletic director Rich Rio said he ‘‘would be pleased but very surprised if all levels of sports are funded in September.’’

He fears he might have to cut freshman football or baseball and water polo, lacrosse and 16-inch softball.

‘‘September will be difficult in all school districts,’’ Rio said.

The Morning Call (Allentown PA) - Quakertown directors still struggling with budget, cuts

2010-03-13T20:14:00.002-05:00

By Melinda Rizzo

March 13, 2010 Quakertown Community School District officials continued to consider budget cuts at their regular business meeting Thursday night, including the possibility of closing Haycock Elementary School, eliminating middle school and freshman sports and delaying renovations to the high school.

If the preliminary budget adopted Feb. 11 remains unchanged, the average tax increase would be about $137, or an extra 5.2 mills.

The current spending plan so far does not call for closing Haycock, cutting sports or delaying renovations to the high school, said Business Manager Sylvia Lenz.

''None of us wants to close Haycock or cut sports, but these costs continue to come up every year, and they have to be looked at every year,'' said school Superintendent Lisa Andrejko.

Quakertown is looking to find ways to shore up a $9.9 million revenue shortfall.

Lenz said the $137 tax increase accounts for about $4.7 million, but still leaves a $5.2 million shortfall.

''We can either make cuts, use fund balance, or increase taxes over $137,'' Lenz said.

Quakertown's fund balance [of reserves] is estimated at $9.3 million.

''The state allowance is to raise taxes by 11.5 mills because of our exceptions, or 8.9 percent,'' Lenz said. An 8.9 percent tax hike would mean an average tax increase of $303.

Lenz said an 8.9 percent increase was unlikely.

''I believe cuts will be made and fund balance will be used to minimize the impact on taxpayers,'' Lenz said.

Lenz said additional proposed cuts included postponing maintenance projects at Milford Middle School and the high school.

Lenz said class sizes could also be increased.

The real estate tax rate in Quakertown is 129 mills. Using the district's average assessment of $29,200, the average tax bill is about $3,767, . A mill is $1 on every $1,000 of a property's assessed value.

Directors were split on whether to implement a pay-to-play program for sports and extracurricular activities. Such a program could exempt economically disadvantaged children, and those exemptions would be based on the Title 1 Free and Reduced Lunch program, school officials said.

''I'm already paying for sports equipment and camps,'' said board Vice President Dean Wackerman. ''Why should the taxpayers have to foot the bill for activities after school too?''

11Alive.com - More Metro Atlanta Public Schools to Face Big Budget Cuts in 2010-2011

2010-03-13T16:55:00.003-05:00

By Jon Shirek

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - March 12, 2010 It's late Friday afternoon, at the Gwinnett Arena: Atlanta's Benjamin E. Mays and Lithonia's Miller Grove are playing each other in the boys State AAAA High School basketball tournament.

And in the stands, mixed with the cheers, there is worry.

"Well, we're not very happy about the cutbacks."

Mary Palmer, whose son is playing for Mays, could be speaking for all the parents in the arena and across the state.

In her case she's just finding out that Atlanta's public schools are going to have to cut $47 million out of their budgets for the 2010-2011 school year.

And one way they'll do it is just pack more students into each classroom, because there's not enough money for enough teachers.

"Our classrooms are already overcrowded," Palmer says, "so now [they'll] make our classrooms even larger?"

"It's going to be very tough next year," says Georgia's School Superintendent Kathy Cox, who's at the arena to cheer the players with their parents.

Cox says that, just as Atlanta was not the first school district announcing massive, 2010-2011 budget cuts in the past month or so, Atlanta will definitely not be the last -- especially as the state and the schools spend next year's federal stimulus money this year to survive.

"A lot from Metro Atlanta," will be struggling to stay above water, she says, "but you're also going to hear from systems all over the state.... They're hurting. And they realize the stimulus came in and helped, but the cliff is coming."

She pointed out that Metro Atlanta's economy is not going to improve overnight. "We've got higher unemployment in Metro Atlanta than we do the rest of the state. That really hasn't happened in modern history," and that leads to less revenue coming in to local and state governments from sales taxes and, because of foreclosures and lower property values, it leads to less revenue coming in from property taxes.

"This is really impacting our large, metro area systems, and they're making some very tough decisions about programs."

One way that Cox and the Georgia Department of Education have tried to help -- since the state lacks enough money to bail out the local schools -- is by granting waivers to 120 school systems, so far, to free them temporarily from having to comply with various expensive state regulations.

For example, "We got a request for a waiver from Cherokee County that said, 'Can we use one principal for both our regular high school and our night school?'"

The answer: yes, for now, given the extraordinary circumstances of this recession.

But does the granting of the waivers amount to just one more way that the recession budgets can hurt quality?

Her office is monitoring the results of all of the waivers.

"We'll evaluate student achievement, see where the waivers were, that it really didn't hurt student achievement to not have to follow that rule. And that then tells us we've got a regulation we don't need."

Back on the court, Miller Grove beats Mays.

And Mary Palmer worries the state is letting the clock run out on everybody.

"I think that our legislators really need to go back and put their heads together and come up with some other ways to deal with the deficits and the budget cuts. We just need to bring more revenue in. Let's come up with a way other than [cutting] education."

______________________________

This is the press release from the Atlanta Public Schools, dated March 12, 2010, about the upcoming budget cuts:

APS is taking steps to reduce spending by $47.4 million for the 2010-2011 school year that includes increasing class size, two involuntary furlough days for all employees and a district-wide freeze on salary steps and cost of living increases.

The projected district budget for the next school year is $588.6 million, which is down $47.4 million from the FY 2009-2010 budget. Georgia school districts are required by law to have balanced budgets in place by the beginning of the new fiscal year.

APS is funded by a combination of property tax revenues and state funding for education. Over the past seven years, state funding for APS has been cut $68.3 million.

The district has made up for state education funding cuts and reductions in property tax revenues due to the economic downturn through a series of austerity measures. Department budgets are being reduced an average of 10 percent next year, and district officials anticipate using approximately $9.5 million from the unrestricted fund balance to help meet next year's budget.

"These are tight financial times for all of us," said Superintendent Dr. Beverly L. Hall. "Belt-tightening to make ends meet is a shared responsibility at APS, and all areas of the district are being asked to use our dwindling financial resources judiciously by prioritizing spending for those areas that are associated with teaching and learning and student academic performance."

APS plans to continue its decade-long school reform initiatives despite these funding challenges, including the middle and high school transformations. There will also be no loss of instructional time for students.

The first of two scheduled community meetings on the proposed FY11 budget is 6 p.m. Thursday, April 1 at Burgess-Peterson Elementary School, 480 Clifton St., SE Atlanta, 30316. The second community meeting on the proposed budget is 6 p.m. Thursday, April 22 at Jean Childs Young Middle School, 3116 Benjamin E. Mays Dr., SW, Atlanta, 30311.

The Oakland Press (CA) - Lake Orion School District discusses budget cuts

2010-03-07T12:16:00.004-05:00

By Monica Drake, Special to The Oakland Press

March 5, 2010 - The Lake Orion Community School district is continuing its discussion of possible budget cuts to be made in the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

“We talked previously about having a $10 million or $10 million-plus type of reduction. And, based on the items, you are not going to achieve that,” said Jillynn Keppler, assistant superintendent of administrative services. “Like we said several times, salaries and benefits have to be an area that’s looked at as a major piece of making this budget work.”

At a recent Board of Education meeting, Keppler said 85 percent of the district’s money goes to salary and benefits.

Keppler said the district’s administration plans to present a preliminary budget at the next board meeting so the district can be on target for contract-related items, such as layoffs.

She stressed that the preliminary budget will not be the final decision and that a public hearing will be in May to give the community a chance to respond.

Treasurer Jim Weidman said that the items discussed in the budget analyses are not feasible for the reduction the school district is looking at.

Weidman said if everything in the budget analyses was eliminated — like transportation, athletics, school cleaning rotation, police liaisons, elementary buildings, assistant principals, etc. — it would only amount to an $11.5 million reduction.

Many board members stated the reductions being outlined aren’t possible.

“We need the best case recommendations to impact the least and suggestions to where we go next,” said Board President Bill Walters.

A committee of 10 people, eight parents and two staff members, discussed ideas for revenue enhancement instead of only reductions.

Some of the ideas were fundraising events such as an art show or through the sale of T-shirts, selling advertising on buses and athletic fields, selling ad space on Orion’s educational channel, the school’s food service catering to local businesses, utilizing online books and selling parking spaces closest to the school.

“Parents were willing to do almost anything we needed them to do,” said Brian Kaplan, principal at Orion Oaks.

Kaplan said parents were willing to volunteer their time in order to raise additional funding for the school district.

Other areas of concern were grouped into categories and members of the district presented information to the board about areas such as the following:

Athletics

About 40 percent of students in the middle school and high school levels combined play a sport. High school students annually pay $225 to participate and middle school students pay $200. Some of the potential budget reductions are to eliminate various sports at one or both levels; eliminate practices on weekends, vacations and holidays; eliminate bus transportation; review coaches’ pay; and utilize volunteers as game workers.

Six alternatives were also discussed. The first was to have all sports operate as self-funded, which would save the district $352,944. The second was a tiered pay-to-participate fee, which may differ at varsity, junior varsity, freshmen and middle school levels, also saving $352,944.

The third alternative would be to turn over the Athletic Department operations to outside organizations, which would effectively eliminate the Athletic Department and save $829,500. A fourth alternative was to eliminate freshmen sports, saving $68,575. Eliminating junior varsity would save $95,496 and eliminating middle school sports would save the district $245,058.

“Those who participate in athletics have higher GPAs,” said William Reiss, the athletic director, in support of the Athletic Department at Lake Orion High School.

He stated that the average GPA of a high school student at Lake Orion is 3.038 and the average GPA of an athlete in the school is 3.265. Reiss also said athletes also have a better-than-average attendance, take more difficult classes, do better on skills tests, have reduced drug and alcohol use, are less likely to be obese, and have better job characteristics.

Read the entire article here

Syracuse University - Budget Cuts Mean Penny-Pinching for Sports

2010-03-07T12:00:00.004-05:00

By Rachel Stern, DemocracyWise, S.I.Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University

February 13, 2010 - Faded uniforms. Worn-out baseball gloves. Scruffed basketballs.

For local high school athletes,those are on the trade-off lists as school officials anticipate another round of state budget cuts.

“We are going to hold on all purchases for next year,” said Richard Roy, the athletic director at Fayetteville-Manlius High School. “This will impact uniforms first because, with reduction, we must prioritize and keep the things we need for the sport to be played.”

Roy and others overseeing local high school sports are planning such drastic penny-pinching to cope with expected state budget cuts for the 2010-2011 school year. Gov. David Patterson has proposed a budget that would cut aid to school districts by 5 percent. If the state legislature approves the governor’s proposals, the Syracuse school district would see a 3.2 percent cut in funding.That would be nearly $8.4 million cut.

And that means less money for athletic departments. The latest scrimping is in addition to changes athletic departments made last year. Fewer games, less travel and a hold on equipment purchases are some of the changes already in place.

Last year at Fayetteville-Manlius, supply cuts saved $25,000 and fewer games saved $45,000, estimated athletic director Roy. At Fayetteville-Manlius, the school budget was $65 million. The athletics department got one percent of the total, amounting to $650,000, said Roy.

But every school’s budget is different, depending on size and programs available. The state budget is not yet final. The state legislature is expected to act on April 1st. In some school districts, like Liverpool, voters also must then approve the budget.

In the meantime,local school boards are crunching the numbers to devise a budget that would pass. If the board suspect voters won’t approve the budget, the schools face the prospect of more cuts.

“Then we are talking about dropping actual teams,” predicted athletic director Roy of Fayetteville-Manlius.

At other school districts throughout Onondaga County, athletic directors are putting together savings plans ranging from travel restrictions to combining teams.

At West Genesee High School, superintendent Christopher Brown has already put in place changes for next season. For example, the school’s teams won’t be traveling again to away games at Utica and Rome. Instead, Brown said, he hopes to get Utica and Rome to join the Tri-Valley League. That would put the two schools in different leagues and they would not face each other. Less travel would save transportation costs for busing the team to these locations.

At Cicero-North Syracuse High School, athletes will continue to travel, said athletic director Tom Tatham. In 2009, for example, the indoor track team and cross country team traveled to races in New York City. But teams will continue to travel outside of Section III, said Tatham, only under special circumstances.

“We will let teams travel if they pay their own way,” Tatham said. “If they go outside, the booster club must pay for it.”

While the changes frustrated athletes, said Tatham, parents understood the tradeoff. He added, “Your child may play less games, but it is a positive that taxes will be down.”

This season, Cicero-North Syracuse High School trimmed its schedules by cutting two basketball games, four baseball games, four softball games and two lacrosse games. Tatham does not foresee things improving. “It is early in the process now,” he said. “But things are going to get worse, not better.”

For Syracuse city schools, the budget process is different. But results are likely to be the same, predicted city school officials.

Chris Hodge, administrator for health, physical education and athletics for all city schools, will find out what budget gaps he faces in April when the State Legislature comes to a decision. But, unlike the other school officials, he doesn’t have to wait for a local election for voters to approve the school budget. City residents do not vote on the school budget.

Still, he’s already trimming spending. This season the number of contests were reduced, said Hodge. Some teams were combined and, Hodge said, next year will see even more consolidation.

“We already have combined swimming and wrestling,” Hodge said, “but I think we will have to combine track and tennis teams — maybe making an East Side and a West Side team.”

The city athletic directors, Hodge said, and his staff will look at participation trends, feedback from those involved and comparative interest in the sport before deciding what will be combined.

Even with the cuts, he stressed the positives of combining teams for the athletes. Said Hodge: “Kids do get to learn from and meet other kids.”

(Rachel Stern is a graduate student in magazine, newspaper and online journalism.)

From AJC - Milton High’s basketball team wins amid controversy, making two foul shots with time expired

2010-03-06T23:25:00.003-05:00

By Mike Carvell, AJC

March 6, 2010 Milton’s Julian Royal (pictured here) made two foul shots with no time remaining in a controversial 53-52 win over Norcross in Saturday’s Class AAAAA quarterfinals at West Georgia.

Only moments earlier, Norcross thought it had pulled off the upset and celebrated wildly after the sound of the final buzzer. However, as Norcross coach Jesse McMillan started walking toward the Milton bench to shake hands, the referees huddled on the side of the court.

“There was a scramble situation around the rim, maybe we fouled them or maybe we didn’t — that’s the ref’s call,” McMillan said. “The situation was that (one) referee called a foul as the horn sounded.

“(The other two) referees had waved the ballgame off, but the other one said he had a foul. He called a hold on us.”

The officiating crew eventually ruled that Royal had been fouled while fighting for a rebound before the buzzer had sounded. The referees cleared the court because time had expired, and awarded two free throws to Royal, who calmly made both with fans from both teams screaming as loud as they could.

Even Milton coach David Boyd admitted he had never experienced an ending like that one.

“No, time had not expired (before the foul was called),” Boyd insisted, “I was battling the whole way for the foul. I saw the official call the play while there was time on the clock. That’s what I saw.”

It was a bizarre turn of emotions for Norcross, which went from big smiles and high fives to tears and hanging heads. McMillan said he trusted that the referee blew his whistle before the final buzzer, but if there was a foul, then there should’ve been time on the clock.

“I don’t think it should’ve been more than one second, but there should’ve been (something),” he said. “At least you give the kids a chance to throw it the length of the court to make a miracle shot.

“The explanation I got from the ref was ‘We don’t have replay, so there is no way to say how much time we should put on there.’ He explained it the best he could.”

Norcross forward E. Victor Nickerson made two free throws to give the Blue Devils a 51-50 lead with 10.2 seconds left. Milton rushed down the court, with Shannon Scott (committed to Ohio State) losing track of time and launching a 30-footer with about six seconds left. Milton’s Jordan Lloyd fought for the offense rebound and missed a short jumper, leading up to dramatic ending.

“I have never won a game with no time showing on the clock,” Boyd said. “I just told the team we’ll take advantage of (this game). We’re in the state semifinals … that’s about all you can say.”

From WTNH (New Haven, CT) - Branford budget cuts school sports

2010-03-06T22:15:00.007-05:00

New budget calls for pay-to-play

By: Rebecca Santillo

Branford (WTNH) - In an effort to save about $100,000 from the school budget, the superintendent has proposed cuts to the sports programs.

Superintendent Kathleen Halligan would like to cut four sports teams at Walsh Intermediate School; boys and girls basketball, baseball and softball. The move would save about $33,000.

"It feels like they are discriminating against us, but they are really not, it's just really hard," said Max Fillion, who plays on the Walsh boys' basketball team.

Additionally, pay-to-play would be implemented at Walsh and the high school. It would cost students $100 to play a sport, but waivers would be available for low income students. Pay-to-play is estimated to save about $75,000.

Parents hope that they can work with the school board to find an alternative.

"The opportunity to sit down and discuss with this board is great and say there are alternatives. Maybe a booster club, charge two dollars at the door," said Bob Kenney of Branford.

The total proposed budget for the 2010-2011 school year is over $48 million, which is up nearly four percent.

The Life-long Impact of High School Sports

2010-03-06T16:55:00.005-05:00

Leadership. Teamwork. Determination. That experience on the field is more valuable than you think.

By Steve Spiewak , CareerandColleges.com

When I spoke to Dave Wannstedt a few weeks ago, he mentioned how valuable high school sports were for developing people who can succeed off the field in the professional world.

There is life after high school sports. For many former athletes who know the value of dedication and teamwork, it’s often a very successful life. The LA Daily News had an interesting piece over the weekend about the lives of many different high school sports stars, and their success after athletics.

As mentioned in the article, some former California high school stars have gone on to become doctors, chiropractors, record producers, and a host of other interesting careers.

Sports journalism is also a career path for some former high school athletes. Though he’s still in high school, it looks like it could be Karl Golombisky’s ticket to success. This article talks about his transition from the basketball court to the editorial page.

As such, it saddens me when I read stories like this, talking about how there are fewer students participating in sports because of the incumbent costs associated with them. I realize there are complexities involved with school funding and budgets, but can’t there be another solution besides forcing kids to pay money they don’t have just to be involved in a sport?

Cranston school board cuts sports, jobs in $123M budget

2010-03-06T11:54:00.002-05:00

Members of the Thunderbirds -- the district's girls cooperative hockey team, which was slated to be cut -- listen to their coach as they prepared to testify at the district's first budget public hearing on Jan. 27. The team will not be eliminated under the approved budget

By Maria Amental, The Providence Journal

CRANSTON, R.I. -- The School Committee approved Tuesday night a $123.6 million budget that strips the district of all but what's mandated by law or required by contract in all programs but music and sports, which will continue to be cut through 2014.

Gone are the K-8 enrichment program (the district's honors program); the K-6 strings, band and choral program; freshman baseball, basketball, and football; golf (co-ed); tennis (boys and girls); and indoor track (boys and girls); and the girls field hockey junior varsity team at Cranston High School East. The girls field hockey varsity team, a popular sport at Cranston East, was saved Monday night in a split vote as School Committee members said they wanted to keep the gender balance in the number of sports offered at the district's two high schools.

Voting against restoring funding for the field hockey varsity team were School Committee members Frank S. Lombardi, Paula McFarland, and Michael A. Traficante, the board's chairman.

The cuts mirror the recommendations of a court-ordered school performance audit as part of the district's May 2008 Caruolo action lawsuit.

All teams could be restored if the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Principals' Committee on Athletics approves the district's request to merge all but its top teams at both high schools. That hearing will be held Thursday at 2 p.m. at the league's headquarters, Building 6 at the Rhode Island College campus, 600 Mt. Pleasant Ave. in Providence.

Also eliminated are some 18 full-time positions, including two music teachers, two special education teachers, the five technical assistants at the Cranston Area Career and Technical Center and another at Cranston High School East.

The vote followed about 3 1/2 hours of discussion as members sought to close a projected loss in state aid of $1.26 million under Governor Carcieri's budget proposal for the fiscal year that begins July 1. District officials had closed it by $756,822. That along with an increase of federal funds for education stabilization left the district with a projected budget hole of $476,149.

To close that budget hole, Supt. Peter L. Nero at one point offered laying off two additional music teachers, which would eliminate the strings, band and choral program at the middle school.

The School Committee rejected that cut on a 4-to-3 vote. Voting against the cut were Stephanie Culhane, Paula McFarland, Janice Ruggieri, and Steven A. Stycos.

The budget proposal now heads to Mayor Allan W. Fung, who must present his proposal to the City Council by April 1.

Committee members said they will amend their budget after the council sets the city budget -- which includes municipal and school spending -- to reflect any necessary changes.

Any of the programs cut, they said, could be spared if additional funds are raised; but, in the case of sports, that would have to be done by April as the latest.

"I will have the fall schedules on my desk on May 1," said Michael C. Traficante, the district's athletics director.

"Just don't think we can go about it at our leisurely pace," he said.

Extra: A copy of the budget proposal, the superintendent's PowerPoint presentation, and the court-ordered performance audit can be accessed on the district's Web site.

Virginia Governor Proposes Elimination Of Pay To HS Coaches

2010-03-06T10:35:00.004-05:00

By Dallas Jackson, Rivals High Senior Analyst

Recently elected Virginia governor Bob McDonnell on Thursday proposed numerous cuts to state education - including the elimination of pay to high school coaches.

McDonnell said it's part of his plan to balance the budget in his state.

But one coach, Chester (Va.) Thomas Dale head football coach Vic Williams (pictured here), says the governor is off the mark.

"His statement, however na? he may be, is false," Williams said.

At least in Chesterfield County, where Williams says the government does not have money earmarked for athletics.

"I spoke to a member of our general assembly who told me the governor spoke out of turn," Williams said. "He expects that the language will be changed in the proposal."

McDonnell, elected last November while making a pledge to not raise taxes, has spent much of his first few months in office meeting with top leaders in the Virginia House and Senate over the state's financial problems. His announcement detailed how he proposes to balance the budget in the state, which he says is expected to have a $4 billion revenue shortfall through 2012.

The cuts, he said, were not easy.

"All of them were difficult because I know that behind every cut there is a Virginian - somebody in this room or somebody out of the 7.8 million people we have - that might be affected by that," he said.

The proposal of cutting the pay for high school coaches is the latest way budget woes are impacting high school sports across the country.

Some areas are cutting sports - or reducing the number of teams it has in each sport, such as dropping freshman programs. Others are considering pay-to-play rules where parents would need to pick up some or all of the costs of operating the teams.

"I don't think pay-to-play will happen in this county," Williams said. "That money would go straight to the coaches supplement and that isn't a good message to send."

Williams, who has lived in Chesterfield County his whole life and claims to know "everyone in town" thinks that if the state does not offer as much funding to schools it could cost coaches.

"I got a $3800 supplement last season and I spent $2900 on the kids and my coaches," he said. "If they cut that in half I would be giving money back.

"I am sure it would cause coaches to quit."

The cuts are only a proposal; the budget still must be approved by the Virginia legislature. The approval would come in April and from there local government will decide how to disperse the funds.

Williams still is not worried.

"We get our funding from the gate at the game," he said. "But other counties are different and it could impact them differently."

High school sports are not being singled out by the proposal. Rather, they are just part of deep cuts impacting public schools in general as well as the size of the state government work force and health and welfare safety net programs.

Read entire story here

From Lansing State Journal - Budget woes hitting high school sports

2010-03-06T10:16:00.003-05:00

By Geoff Kimmerly

Lansing State Journal, March 6, 2010 - Michigan high school sports are facing a financial crisis unlike any Haslett's Jamie Gent has seen during his 42 years as a high school coach and athletic director.

Every day he worries about how the next few years will unfold for his roughly 900 students, about half of whom annually play - and pay - for sports.

So far, the cost of balancing budgets has come in cuts of assistant coaches, new equipment or school funding of less popular sports such as bowling. But next month, the Capital Area Activities Conference will consider cutting contests from their freshman and junior varsity schedules.

Ionia County's Saranac High School could end its wrestling, competitive cheer and boys golf programs immediately if enrollment isn't up when school begins in September.

And that could be just the start.

Freshman teams in some sports are next on the block. Farther down the road? Potentially, some sports - perhaps those with strong club counterparts like tennis and swimming - could disappear entirely from the high school landscape, or in the least become fully paid for by athletes with no help from schools.

"There's no money, period," Gent said. "We're coming to a stage in the next three years that if things don't get better, (it could damage) sports altogether. Who do you pick? What stays? What sport doesn't stay?"

As another athletic year gets under way Monday, with the first day of football practices across the state, the grim financial picture foreshadowed in schools' increased reliance on sports participation fees as a way to help struggling budgets.

No matter what the fees are labeled - pay-to-play, athletic registration, or simply transportation fees - more schools statewide are introducing or raising them.

In a 2003 State Journal report looking at 30 districts closest to Lansing, 14 charged fees. Now, 21 do.

Haslett is one of 26 public and private area districts - of 44 total in the area - that charges student-athletes to participate in athletics. Of 11 that increased their fees heading into this school year, Gent's school raised its price tag the most - $50 - up to an annual fee of $150 per student.

Read Entire Article Here

Charleston school board goes back and forth over budget cuts

2010-03-06T09:40:00.003-05:00

By DAVE FOPAY - H&R Staff Writer

CHARLESTON - Charleston Superintendent Jim Littleford summed up Wednesday how school board members were handling how they might trim the Charleston High School athletic budget.

"We're all over the place," he said.

A discussion of perhaps cutting sports budgets by 5 percent or 10 percent led to comments about reducing game schedules and that staff cuts would be the best way to save money. Littleford got what he wanted with the meeting to discuss what the next round of budget cuts might involve, though there seemed to be little indication of a consensus.

At press time, the board had heard from those in attendance about concerns about some proposed cuts and began talking about the athletic program. Members had yet to address possible reductions in teaching staff that Littleford also had prepared for the meeting, which drew a crowd of nearly 100.

At one point, board President Ron Miller noted that the board said it wanted to do the "least harm" to varsity athletics. Littleford came back with the possible 5 percent or 10 percent reduction, and "now you're changing the direction," he said.

"Let's give him direction and let him go," Miller said. "Don't keep moving the target on him."

Wednesday's meeting followed cuts the board approved last month that totaled about $450,000. Those included eliminating high school holiday basketball tournaments, reducing the number of games at the middle school level and for high school freshman, sophomore and junior varsity teams and suspending textbook purchases.

Last month's cuts and additional reductions that likely will be up for votes at the board's regular meeting next week are supposed to help get to Littleford's overall target of

$1.63 million in reductions. That's the amount he said is needed to offset budget deficits projected to start three years from now if no changes are made.

Littleford has said state funding for education is the main reason for the need for the cuts.

Littleford told the board that the total cost of Charleston High School athletics comes to about $263,000 a year. That prompted board member Kevin Oakley to note that more budget reductions still would be needed, "if we cut everything."

Possible teaching staff reductions were to be discussed, along with proposals not to replace retiring teachers and reassigning some teachers to other positions.

ESPN Rise Magazine - All playing fields are not created equal

2009-10-22T12:53:00.006-04:00

By Lucas O'Neill, ESPN RISE Magazine

October 22, 2009 - Three years ago, Dunbar (Washington, D.C.) was slated to host a nationally televised high school football game on ESPNU. About a month before the contest, however, an article in The Washington Post chronicled the school's outdated facilities -- a busted weight room; a broken, moldy shower; a track in disrepair.

(Photo caption: Some Boston area schools have to scrounge for uniforms and equipment, and some even playing fields)

Dunbar players, including then-senior Arrelious Benn, one of the nation's top receivers, expressed concern that the decrepit conditions would reflect poorly on their school. At the eleventh hour, Dunbar received funding to make emergency repairs in time for the game and much-needed upgrades afterward.

A year later, with Benn off to college at Illinois, another nationally televised high school football game showed how the other side lives. Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas), then a three-time defending state champion and the nation's No. 2 team, boasted a multimillion-dollar indoor practice facility that would rival anything Benn was experiencing with the Illini. Even though the game was held at SMU's Ford Field, Carroll's impressive facilities got nearly as much exposure as its talented team.

"There's always going to be the haves and the have-nots," Dunbar football coach Craig Jefferies says. "It keeps our kids humble. We want to eat steak one day. We keep eating the hot dogs, and that gives us the drive to keep getting to that point."

Carroll and Dunbar represent the economic disparity that exists in high school sports, where money can mean the difference between success and just getting on the field. In this time of recession and uncertainty, funding is more tenuous than ever for many school districts. But the formulation is not always so simple, the contrast not always so stark. You don't have to have money to win. And in some struggling communities, funding isn't an issue -- especially for programs with a history of success. But one way or another, money influences nearly every facet of high school sports.

Pay to play
Last year, Mount Vernon (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) put its own spin on the phrase "pay to play." The Westchester County community with a population of around 68,000 voted down the school budget in the spring of 2008. With sports on the chopping block, Mount Vernon student-athletes stepped to the forefront of an impressive effort called Save Our Sports, which raised roughly $950,000 to preserve Mount Vernon's 22 varsity sports teams for the 2008-09 school year.
Partnering with organizations like the Mount Vernon Educational Foundation, Save Our Sports met the goal through a variety of means. Basketball coach Bob Cimmino's charges helped organize the Ben Gordon Bowling Bash, featuring the former Mount Vernon star and current Detroit Pistons guard. Football coach Rick Wright spearheaded a campaign to ask 5,000 people for $100. Wrestling coach Craig Ramsey, who's also a firefighter, set up a tollbooth with help from fire trucks and student-athletes.

News spread of student-athletes soliciting donations in uniform and on the street, and soon money started coming in from all over. A couple that was getting married asked for guests to donate to Save Our Sports in lieu of gifts. A young man donated all of his bar mitzvah money.
Even neighboring towns pitched in. A cocktail party in Bronxville, N.Y., an affluent community that borders Mount Vernon, raised more than $200,000 in September 2008. And because the school system had an anonymous donor matching dollar-for-dollar that month, the cocktail party brought in nearly half of what was needed to keep sports alive at Mount Vernon.

"It was an amazing experience," Cimmino says. "Terribly time-consuming and draining, but we got it done."

Not everybody's as lucky. East Detroit (Eastpointe, Mich.) cut all freshman athletic programs starting this school year due to a budgetary crisis. The City Section in Los Angeles eliminated several baseball and softball games and reduced the number of buses provided for wrestling tournaments due to a lack of state-transportation funding this past spring. And in Florida, all sports except football were slated to see a 20 percent reduction in the number of contests played during this school year until the decision was challenged and the games reinstated.

Stories like these abound in practically every corner of the country. Sports, like the arts, are often seen as one of the easiest things to cut when a school faces a budgetary shortfall. And it's hard to argue that baseball is more important than math. At the same time, there are costs associated with cutting "extras," even if the tab isn't immediately clear.

"It's like missing a math course or a social studies course, it's that important on their résumé," Cimmino says. "If you excel at something, that's what colleges are looking at." Cimmino pushed so hard to keep sports at Mount Vernon because he knows what basketball means to the school and community. All but two of his players have gone on to attend college. In a city where less than a quarter of the adult population has a bachelor's degree, that's no small feat. And it's no coincidence. "Athletes in season almost always do better on their report cards than athletes not in season," Cimmino says.

It's hard to put a price on that. That's just one reason Mount Vernon Police Commissioner David Chong was one of the first people on board for Mayor Clinton Young's Save Our Sports initiative. It wasn't hard for law enforcement and elected officials to predict what it would mean if hundreds of teenagers were without sports to occupy their afternoons and evenings.
One way or another, the community would pay.

Community pride
This past summer, Pahokee (Pahokee, Fla.) unveiled a multimillion-dollar football stadium bearing the name of alumnus Anquan Boldin, now a star receiver with the Arizona Cardinals. The complex includes a new practice field and locker room akin to those at a small Division I program.

At first glance then, Pahokee seems comparable to Southlake Carroll. But look beyond the playing surface and you see something much different. Unlike in well-off Southlake, about one-third of Pahokee's 6,000 residents live below the poverty line. Between foreclosures and layoffs, the crunch has hit the Palm Beach County community hard. "It's been tough for the people of Pahokee for years, even more so now that the economy is down," Pahokee football coach Blaze Thompson says. "The poverty level is high, jobs are few and far between." Despite the hardships, Pahokee's football team is consistently among the best in the state, if not the country. The Blue Devils produced about a dozen Division I recruits last year and could feature even more this year once national signing day is over.

Thompson says the program's new facility was a worthy investment despite the tough economic times. "I think the players will be proud, the community will be proud," Thompson says. "I think it'll have a positive impact on the town."

Football isn't just a sport in Pahokee -- it's about community pride, release and often opportunity. Thousands attend the annual Muck Bowl game against Glades Central (Belle Glade, Fla.). And Thompson says none of his players would have been able to go to college without football. "I don't know of any player who's had the benefit of money or that kind of thing," Thompson says. "Every single one of them has to fight."

Carroll football coach Hal Wasson frames his community's commitment to football, even in tough times, slightly differently. With great facilities already in place, he emphasizes the importance of keeping his players protected no matter the cost.

"[The recession has] definitely hit everybody, but at the end of the day we're still in good shape as far as budget and equipment goes," Wasson says. "We'll never cut costs on the safety of our players."

Those costs are no small change. Between helmets, cleats, and shoulder, thigh and knee pads, the Dragons spend $600-700 per athlete for more than 300 players. It's a luxury many programs would love to have. But as Wasson points out, when safety is considered, it's not a luxury at all.

Carroll also has among the best-attended games in the nation. Its stadium holds 11,000 and will soon hold around 14,000 thanks to a recently passed bond. The gate receipts are impressive. And merchandise brings in thousands more each year, only some of which goes to the football team.

The squad's success -- on the field and in the ledger -- benefits many. According to a USA Today article on the profitable program, wealthy school districts like Carroll wind up supplying money for poorer districts under the so-called Robin Hood system.

"I've always said that Carroll is a special place and a unique place in that our school is so important to the community," Wasson says.

In football-crazed Texas, having a pro-level practice field isn't even unusual. Fellow Dallas-area schools like Allen (Allen, Texas) and the Plano tandem of East and West have excellent facilities as well. There is an element of keeping up with the Joneses, even in a recession.

"Everyone's on equal ground. That's why it's so dang tough to win a football game here anymore," Wasson says with a laugh.

Money goes only so far
Massachusetts, unlike Texas or Florida, is anything but a factory for Division I athletes. Partly this is because there are far fewer players, and partly it's because the warm weather lasts a shorter time in New England. Of course, money plays no small role. Boston may have some of the nation's best professional sports teams, but uniforms, equipment and even playing fields are often hard to come by for high school squads. When that's the case, success, attendance and school spirit are the next dominoes to fall.

The Boston Globe recently published a multipart exposé on the deficiencies of the city's athletics and, as with The Post's article on Dunbar in 2006, people appear to be listening. In August, Mayor Tom Menino announced the creation of the Boston Scholar Athlete Program, a joint venture of public and private entities aimed at improving facilities and equipment for the city's high school sports programs.

There is hope. But Dunbar coach Jefferies says money goes only so far. "It's about what you do on the field," he says. "Bricks and mortar and facilities don't win games."

Lucas O'Neill covers high school sports for ESPN RISE Magazine. This story appeared in the October issue.

Orlando Sentinel - High school seniors chart career path outside athletics

2009-10-22T12:44:00.005-04:00

By Zach McCann

October 22, 2009 - Something like 99.999 percent of high school athletes — the runners, the swimmers, the bowlers, the football players — won't make a living playing their respective sports.The athletes on these newspaper pages are more than future sports stars; they're the next generation of teachers, doctors and businessmen.

There are some area athletes with big career plans. If professional football doesn't work out for Apopka's Lo Wood, he hopes to open his own business. The Notre Dame commit plans to major in business management. "I want to [own] probably either a car-washing business or a restaurant," Wood said. "I've always wanted to have a restaurant that makes a certain style of food, and that can bring a lot of attention from people in the community. And everyone needs their car washed."

Even if I play football, I still want to own my business after that. "Winter Springs golfer Kyle Wilkey wants to be a firefighter. Edgewater defensive lineman E.J. Dunston said he would like to build recreation buildings and facilities one day. Olympia golfer Alan Schneider would like to take over his father's business, importing sugar from overseas. "I plan on, after getting my degree in business management, getting a job in the field and going back for my MBA," he said. "And then after that, I'll take over my father's business. "For the past year or so, I've been learning from him and going on some of the business trips with him. I see my dad as a very successful person."

Bishop Moore running back Jalen Singleton also could follow in his father's footsteps. Singleton would like to do something involved with sports. "I'm definitely considering sports management," Singleton said. "Being an agent and helping people out, I think that'd be real cool. And my dad is a physical therapist, so if the agency didn't work out, I could go into that field. "Singleton isn't the only one who wants to help other people. Several area athletes want to work in the health-care field. Alyssa Burkert, a senior cross country runner at Ocoee, wants to be a pediatrician. "I just love little kids, and I think it would be really fun," Burkert said. "I always wanted to be a doctor, and I think it would be a good fit for me.

"Winter Park swimmer Nina Droppers and Edgewater volleyball and soccer player Chelsea Lingelbach would like to help people or animals in need. Droppers visited Africa the previous two summers, and that inspired her to pursue a position in health care. "I've always wanted to go into nursing," said Droppers, who is undecided but wants to go to Hope College in Michigan. "... I just want to help people, as elementary as that sounds. That would be the coolest thing to live in a village somewhere and help people.

"Lingelbach doesn't know exactly what she wants to be, but she has it narrowed down to two choices. "I've wanted to be a veterinarian forever," she said. "That's a possibility. If I don't do that, then I'd like to be a math teacher. Any kind of math, I just really enjoy it."

Zach McCann can be reached at zmccann@orlandosentinel.com.

Copyright © 2009, Orlando Sentinel

Washington Post - More Students Take the Field

2009-09-24T12:23:00.003-04:00

By Alan Goldenbach
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, September 24, 2009

Reporting on its data from the 2008-09 school year, the National Federation of State High School Associations says participation in high school sports, among boys and girls, increased to a new high -- the 20th consecutive year that number has risen. The federation lauded it as high school sports' ability to thrive in spite of the nation's struggling economy.

The survey showed that a greater percentage of high school students played a sport in 2008-09 (55.2 percent) than in 2007-08 (54.8 percent).

The sport with the biggest increase in participation from 2007-08 was swimming and diving, which saw a bump of 11.6 percent (289,060 overall). This might have been affected by Michael Phelps and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Lacrosse continued its ascent among teenagers, as high school participation increased 6.7 percent over the previous year.

Meanwhile, there was a decrease in the number of students playing boys' basketball (1.4 percent), girls' basketball (1.3 percent) and soccer (0.2 percent). Not surprisingly, football was the most popular sport, with 1,112,303 participants nationwide, nearly twice as many as the next most popular, track and field (558,007). Track and field supplanted basketball as the most popular girls' sport.

According to a source at Montgomery County public schools, however, sports participation in Montgomery dropped in 2008-09, down nearly 20 percent from 2007-08. A noticeable drop-off occurred in the winter and spring, once the economic downturn was clearly not a quick blip in the market. Furthermore, the source said the number of students who received a waiver of the county's $30 athletic participation fee tripled from the previous year.

ESPN OTL - Ginny Ehrlich, Executive Director, Alliance For A Healthier Generation On The Importance Of Youth Physical Fitness

2009-09-24T12:08:00.003-04:00

Sports Illustrated: The impact of an Ohio school district's decision to cut sports

2009-09-21T09:38:00.004-04:00

Andy Staples -INSIDE HIGH SCHOOL

GROVE CITY, Ohio, September 17, 2009 That first Friday at Grove City High was so quiet. Any other school year, the school's nationally acclaimed band would have ended the day by marching through the halls blasting the fight song. Any other school year, more than 11,000 would have gathered later that evening at the stadium behind the school to watch the Greyhounds -- better known as the Dawgs -- open their season. Any other school year, Friday would have meant something.

On Aug. 28, football players didn't come to school in their jerseys. Cheerleaders didn't wear their uniforms. The band didn't march, and the team didn't play. Exactly one hour after the final bell rang, the doors were locked. "Every day feels like a Tuesday," said Mike Mayers, the senior who thought he would start at quarterback this season. "Fridays are the days that everybody realizes things aren't the same."

Mayers no longer has a team because the South-Western City School Board (the district includes four high schools: Central Crossing, Grove City, Franklin Heights and Westland) took the unprecedented step of canceling all extra-curricular activities after voters failed to pass an operating levy Aug. 4. Now, the four high schools in Ohio's sixth-largest school district have no sports, no bands, no drama productions and no student council.

Friday doesn't matter anymore in the South-Western district, but Tuesday, Nov. 3, does. On that day district voters will go to the polls a fourth time to decide whether the district will receive the additional property tax dollars the school board insists it needs to bring back sports, clubs and busing for high school students.

The issue has turned neighbor against neighbor and caused shouting matches at school board meetings and on street corners. Those who oppose the levy argue that the district should find a more efficient way to spend the money it already has instead of asking for more tax dollars. The anti-levy crusaders appear to be the majority, evidenced by the fact that the levy already has been voted down three times. Those who support the levy warn that if the district doesn't offer a full program that includes a quality education and extra-curricular activities, parents will leave for another district that does. They also fear that another no vote will force the school board to slice into academic programs, which could trigger a mass exodus. That, they argue, would further erode the tax base and rob South-Western of many of its brightest students. To the pro-levy side, the Nov. 3 vote is nothing short of a referendum on the future of the community.

"This community is going to die," Grove City High football coach Matt Jordan said. "That's the big fear."

The situation in South-Western is extreme, but it isn't unusual. Across the nation, school districts are wrestling with a fundamental question. When money is tight, should taxpayers be funding high school sports? In Mount Vernon, N.Y., students, parents, coaches, teachers and community leaders raised nearly $1 million to fund the school district's sports program for the 2008-09 school year after voters twice declined to pass the district budget and forced the district into austerity mode. The budget was passed -- with funding for athletics -- for the current school year. In the East Side Union district in San Jose, Calif., sports were on the chopping block until this summer, when district officials reached an 11th-hour compromise to fund sports that included a $200 "donation" from each athlete.

What's happening at South-Western could happen almost anywhere in America, because South-Western could be almost anywhere in America. Its 127 square miles include rural areas with farms and rolling hills, tree-lined suburbs such as Grove City and urban areas within the Columbus city limits. According to district records, 52 percent of the district's 21,000 students receive either free or reduced lunch. South-Western also serves a large portion of the Columbus area's growing Somali population. That economic disparity was the reason the school board did not allow the schools to charge a participation fee to fund athletics this year. Board members worried that the district's lower-income students would be denied opportunities, so they elected to deny athletics to everyone.

On a Chamber of Commerce evening last week, the football field at Central Crossing High sat empty. The unlined grass was cut in neat rows with no cleat marks to break up the monotony. Over at Franklin Heights High, someone put a wreath on one of the locked gates shortly after school began. Now, the schools open one hour before the first bell and close one hour after the last one.

The decision to eliminate athletics has cost the district some of its coaches. While Jordan still teaches at Grove City, he serves as an assistant at North Pickerington High, 23 miles away. Other coaches simply have left. Mark Tremayne, the respected cross-country coach at Central Crossing, left to take a job at Hilliard Darby High.

Dozens of athletes also have left. Most are football players who don't have club or travel seasons like their basketball, baseball, soccer and volleyball counterparts. To keep getting recruited, football players have to play for a high school. One example is former Franklin Heights lineman Cody Evans, a 6-foot-3, 350-pound junior who is drawing interest from a number of Football Bowl Subdivison schools. Evans landed at Briggs High in Columbus.

Some former South-Western students have had to file for emancipation from their parents so they can live in other school districts. One coach said he knows a perfectly happy couple that has legally separated so the student can live with one parent in an apartment in another district.

Jordan Sturgell, a former Grove City High football player, didn't have to go to that extreme, but his parents did have to fill out paperwork for a guardianship change so Sturgell can live with his aunt and uncle and attend Teays Valley High and play his senior season. Sturgell has received interest from schools in Division II, Division III and the Football Championship Subdivision. Sturgell is one of four former South-Western students on the roster at Teays Valley. A fifth decided to return to Grove City after the team's first game. "I can't sit out from football," said Sturgell, who plays running back, receiver and safety.

"Football's my life. I love it." When Sturgell's new team opened the season Aug. 28 against Westfall, both starting quarterbacks were former Grove City players.

CONTINUE STORY. Read more.

2009 USA TODAY Super 25 preseason rankings

2009-09-03T12:41:00.004-04:00

Here are the 2009 preseason USA TODAY Super 25 high school football rankings. The first regular-season rankings will appear Sept. 7. Teams who open their seasons before then will have their results updated below:

1. St. Thomas Aquinas, Fort Lauderdale (1-0)
Returning starters:Four on offense, six on defense from 15-0 team. Result: Giovanni Bernard ran for 119 yards and two TDs in a 52-7 win Aug. 29 vs. Upper Arlington (Columbus, Ohio) at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. Outlook:The defending USA TODAY Super 25 champion and Florida 5A champion lost QB Ryan Becker and WRs Duron Carter and Dwayne Difton, but will benefit from two speedy transfers. DB/WR LaMarcus Joyner, who has 4.34 speed in the 40 and is the No. 2 CB in the 2010 class according to Scout.com, transferred from Southwest Miami and junior WR Rashad Greene, who was third in Georgia in the 400 meters, moved from Westover (Augusta, Ga.). In addition, senior RBs Bernard (1,528 yards) and James White (960 yards) return. The teams lone weak spot might be offensive line; Brandon Linder is the only returning starter. The Raiders face a schedule that includes home games vs. No. 2 Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.) on Oct. 2 and Cypress Bay (Weston, Fla.) on Nov. 13. Next: Sept. 11 vs. Boyd Anderson (Fort Lauderdale).

2. Byrnes, Duncan, S.C. (1-0)
Returning starters: Six on offense, five on defense from 14-1 team. Result: Chas Dodd threw for three TDs and Marcus Lattimore rushed for three in a 43-7 defeat of Central Gwinnett (Lawrenceville, Ga.) Aug. 28 in Suwanne, Ga. Outlook: The Rebels have plenty of talent back from their sixth state championship in eight seasons. On offense, the Rebels are led by two three-year starters, Rutgers-bound QB Dodd (2,397 passing yards and 18 passing TDs) and Lattimore (2,300 yards and 30 rushing TDs), the top-ranked RB by Scout.com and the No. 2 RB by Rivals.com. On defense, FSU commit Corey Miller and junior Brandon Willis anchor a formidable front line. The Rebels play at No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas on Oct. 2 and vs. Dorman (Roebuck, S.C.) on Oct. 23. Next: Friday vs. Myrtle Beach.

3. Katy, Texas (1-0)
Returning starters: Four on offense, six on defense from 13-3 team. Result: Ended a 78-game regular-season winning streak for North Shore (Houston) with a 9-7 win on Aug. 29. Outlook: Katy's defense, which led it to a second consecutive state Division II title last season, returns largely intact, led by FS Sam Holl, who had 109 unassisted tackles. While QB Michael Stojkovic didn't get a lot of snaps last season, he will be handing off to RB Will Jeffery, who had 1,483 yards and 17 TDs and Vernon Jeffries, who had 627 yards last season. The schedule will be a challenge. Besides a home game Sept. 12 with Bellevue, Wash., two other schools in the Katy District, Cinco Ranch and Taylor (Katy), went three rounds in the playoffs. Next: Friday vs. The Woodlands (Houston).

4. Elder, Cincinnati (1-0)
Returning starters: Four on offense, seven on defense from 13-2 team. Result: Mike Miller threw for three TDs in a 49-28 win vs. No. 10 East St. Louis, Ill., on Aug. 29. Outlook: If the Panthers can go 3-0 after playing No. 10 East St. Louis (Ill.), No. 13 Colerain (Cincinnati) and Trinity (Louisville), they'll be very good. Elder, the state Division I runner-up to St. Ignatius (Cleveland), has to rebuild its offensive line but has plenty of skill players back, led by senior QB Miller, an all-state player who threw for 2,307 yards and 24 TDs. RB Adam Brown ran for 949 yards and 13 TDs, and Indiana recruit WR Tim O'Conner had 662 receiving yards and nine TD catches. Notre Dame-bound TE Alex Welch also averaged more than 15 yards a catch, but there's also plenty of inexperience on the offensive line. Defensively, the Panthers will be solid, led by DE Pete Bachman, who has given a commitment to Indiana. Next: Sunday vs. No. 13 Colerain (Cincinnati).

5. Don Bosco Prep, Ramsey, N.J. (0-0)
Returning starters: Returning starters: Six on offense, eight on defense from 11-1 team. Result: Idle. Outlook: The three-time defending state Non-Public Division 4 champion has a solid defense returning to make up for the loss of QB Brett Knief and RB Dillon Romain. Vanderbilt-bound defensive tackle James Kittredge is one of six future Division I players on defense. The unit will be bolstered by junior LB/RB Paul Canevari and sophomore Darius Hamilton, son of former New York Giants DT Keith Hamilton. Junior QB Gary Nova will step into Knief's shoes and speedy RB Tony Jones will get plenty of carries. Big games include at home against No. 14 De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) on Sept. 12 and a Sept. 25 game on ESPNU at No. 21 Prattville, Ala. Opens: Sept. 12 vs. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.).

6. Miami Northwestern (1-0)
Returning starters: Seven on offense and seven on defense from 13-2 team. Result: Defeated Norland (Miami) 38-7 on Aug. 27 as QB Teddy Bridgewater threw two first-half TD passes. Outlook: 2008 was a "down" year for the Bulls and they still were the state 6A runner-up. With Bridgewater, RB Corvin Lamb and WR Michaelee Harris all back, Northwestern's spread attack will be difficult to stop. Harris had 12 TD catches and 500 yards last season and Bridgewater passed for 18 TDs and 1,500 yards. Defensively, the Bulls secondary will be particularly tough, led by senior DBs Khalid Marshall and Khambrel McGee and senior DT Todd Chandler, a Miami recruit. Next: Friday at Carol City (Opa-Locka, Fla.).

7. Oaks Christian, Westlake Village, Calif. (0-0)
Returning starters: Eight on offense, six on defense from 14-0 team. Result: Idle. Outlook: With the sons of Joe Montana, Wayne Gretzky and Will Smith, the Lions have plenty of star power, but there's substance behind the hype. Senior RB Malcolm Jones rushed for 26 TDs and 1,504 yards last season and is considered the No. 3 RB by Scout.com and the No. 7 athlete by Rivals.com. The defensive line is anchored by Cassius Marsh, a 6-5, 285-pound senior with 17 scholarship offers who had 55 tackles last season. In addition, QB Nick Montana, who has given a commitment to Washington, threw for 2,402 yards and 33 TDs last season and showed steady improvement in the spring and summer. Oaks Christian will be tested early at No. 24 Skyline (Sammamish, Wash.) on Sept. 18. Opens: Friday at Alemany (Mission Hills).

8. Oscar Smith, Chesapeake, Va. (1-0)
Returning starters: Six on offense, five on defense from 15-0 team. Result: Phillip Sims threw for 265 yards and a TD and J.C. Coleman ran for two TDs in a 27-13 defeat of Venice, Fla., on Aug. 28. Outlook: The defending Division 6 champ has one of the top QBs in the country in senior Sims, an Alabama recruit who has passed for 7,785 yards and 84 TDs in his career. He'll be protected by a solid line, led by OT/DT Evan Hailes, G Corey Steward and OT Dontrell Holmes. Hailes, who has committed to Penn State, also anchors the defensive line. The Tigers also added a great deal of speed when RB Coleman transferred from Kings Fork. Next: Sept. 11 at Indian River (Chesapeake).

9. Centennial, Peoria, Ariz. (1-0)
Returning starters: Nine on offense, four on defense from 14-0 team. Result: Won 51-20 at McQueen (Reno) on Aug. 22 as RB Anthony Hughes rushed for 119 yards and a 1-yard TD and scored on a 70-yard TD off a screen pass. Outlook: The Coyotes are in a good position to go for their fourth consecutive state 5A-II title. They have a killer offensive line, led by three 300-pounders, Nick Rowland, Dylan Lusk and Junior Nieves, all three-year starters. Behind that group, it shouldn't be hard for senior QB Dan McFarland to exceed his totals of 1,900 yards and 20 TDs and for senior RB Hughes to run for more than his 900 yards and 13 TDs of a season ago. Plays 5A-I state runner-up Brophy College Prep on Sept. 17. Next: Friday at Chandler.

10. East St. Louis, Ill. (0-1)
Returning starters: 10. Result: Lost 49-28 to then-No. 4 Elder (Cincinnati) at University of Cincinnati. Sept. 5 at Middletown, Ohio. Outlook: The defending 7A state champion Flyers lost two big-time receivers in Terry Hawthorne (Illinois) and Kraig Appleton (Wisconsin), but have plenty of offensive talent returning. In their careers, QB Detchauz Wray has thrown for 68 TDs and 5,100 yards, WR Keante Minor has 800 yards receiving and RB Courtney Molton has rushed for 3,000 yards and 37 TDs. RB/DB Darius Stewart, who transferred from McCuer North (Florissant, Mo.), ran for 1,000 yards last season. Another player, Chris Murphy, nephew of former NFL player Dennis Stallings, had 1,000 all-purpose yards last season. Next: Saturday at Middletown, Ohio.span >

11. Camden County, Kingsland, Ga. (0-1)
Returning starters: Four on offense and four on defense from a 15-0 team. Result: Lost 14-10 to Grayson (Loganville) on Aug. 22 as Grayson allowed only 45 rushing yards. Outlook: With Ean Days and Aundre Johnson back at RB, the defending state 5A champion Wildcats should be solid. The pair rushed for 1,476 yards and 16 TDs. They'll be aided by a solid offensive line. Defensively, DE Matt Jackson and NG Jeremiah Booth anchor the unit, along with Johnson at LB. The secondary is athletic but not seasoned. The Wildcats host perennial Alabama toughie Hoover on Sept. 11. Next: Friday vs. First Coast (Jacksonville, Fla.).

12. Allen, Texas (0-1)
Returning starters: Six on offense, two on defense from 15-1 team. Result: Lost 28-25 at Longview on Aug. 28. Longview's McCray rushed for 108 yards, including 107 in the second half, and ran for a 21-yard TD. Outlook: While the defending 5A champion lost plenty of starters, it has two all-state players returning in QB Matt Brown and OL Cedric Ogbuehi. Brown rushed for 1,134 yards and 14 TDs and passed for 14 yards and 1,966 and 29 TDs. When Brown was injured last season, QB Tucker Carter also saw plenty of playing time. In addition, Ogbuehi anchors a solid offensive line that includes four other returning senior starters: Luke Burleson, Taylor Pearson, Richard Greer and Matthew Peacock. Defense and a difficult schedule that includes Plano, Rockwall, Trinity (Euless) and Plano West will be the big question marks for the Eagles. Next: Friday vs. Monterrey Tech (Mexico).

13. Colerain, Cincinnati (0-1)
Returning starters: Seven on offense, five on defense from 11-2 team. Result: Lost 16-0 on Aug. 28 to St. Xavier (Cincinnati). Outlook: The Cardinals have plenty of muscle to flex in their flexbone option with starting QB Greg Tabar and 1,000-yard rushers Trayion Durham and Tyler Williams returning. Tabar, a senior, has committed to Cincinnati. Durham and Williams, both juniors, combined for 2,301 yards and 25 TDs on the ground. Colerain's defense might be its best ever, led by linebackers Tyon Dixon, who has committed to Louisville and Cincinnati recruit Jarrett Grace. The secondary is also solid with JoVanta Harrison, Chris Dukes and Darius Godfrey all returning. Next: Sunday at No. 4 Elder (Cincinnati).

14. De La Salle, Concord, Calif. (0-0)
Returning starters: Five on offense, six on defense from 12-2 team. Result: Idle. Outlook: The Spartans lost only one in-state game last season, and that was in the state championship. Though starting QB Blake Wayne and RB Kylan Butler graduated, the running game will be solid, with RB Terron Ward (708 yards and 10 TDs) returning, along with a talented offensive line led by senior Ts Chris Lawrence and Tom Hickel. Lawrence will combine at DT with DE Dylan Wynn and linebacker Blake Renaud on De La Salle's 4-4 defense. The Spartans play one of the toughest schedules in the country with a game at No. 5 Don Bosco (Ramsey, N.J.) on Sept. 12 and a home game against Lakeland, Fla., on Oct. 2. Opens: Friday vs. Serra (San Mateo).

15. Stony Point, Round Rock, Texas (1-0)
Returning starters: Five on offense, six on defense from 13-2 team. Result: Jinad Johnson rushed for 110 yards and TDs of 10 and 2 yards and QB Aaryn Sharp rushed for 103 yards and passed for 77 in a 29-0 defeat Aug. 28 of Alamo Heights (San Antonio). Outlook: Reached the state semifinals for the first time last season, only eight years after fielding its first varsity team. This year, the team will have to replace starting QB Nyk McKissic (now at Jackson State) and RB Glasco Martin (now at Baylor), but a solid defense should give the offense time to get going. Stony Point also won the state's 7-on-7 title over the summer. Junior QB Sharp looks to take over the team's spread attack. The team's secondary, with CB Kevin White, who has committed to Utah, and FS Desmond Martin, who has committed to Texas Tech, will be particularly strong. Next: Thursday vs. Connally (Pflugerville).

16. Lowndes, Valdosta, Ga. (1-0)
Returning starters: Seven on offense, five on defense from 12-1 team. Result: Lowndes set a school record for points in a 75-14 defeat of Woodland (Stockbridge) Aug. 28 as Troy Braswell rushed for 101 yards and four TDs. Outlook: While the Vikings must replace QB Greg Reid and most of their secondary, the have plenty of experience, including 15 players who saw playing time. Khary Franklin and Tyler Hunter, who return at RB, combined for more than 4,500 yards last season. Lowndes will be tough against the run, led by senior LBs Telvin Smith and Michael Copeland and linemen Ed Christian and Jordan Black, all seniors. Tough games include region foe Northside (Warner Robins), which won a state title in 2007, and 2008 state runner-up Peachtree Ridge (Suwanee). Next: Friday vs. Peachtree Ridge (Suwanee).

17. Cedar Hill, Texas (1-0)
Returning starters: Seven on offense, five on defense from 12-2 team. Result: Defeated Desoto 44-41 Aug. 29 as Mason Hayes rushed for 140 yards and QB Driphus Jackson ran for a TD and passed for two TDs. Sept. 4 vs. Wichita Falls Rider. Outlook: The Longhorns have one of the top backs in the state in Ben Malena, a 5-9 speedster who rushed for 2,202 yards and 35 TDs last season. QB Jackson had 1,350 yards passing and 789 yards rushing last year as a sophomore. Adam Shead, a 6-5, 300-pound guard, anchors the offensive line that includes two-year starter RG Ricky Gonzales, who is 6-0, 270. On defense, LB Aaron Benson, who has committed to Texas, led the team with 155 tackles while LB Randall Smith had 88 tackles last season. Also, DE Josh Parks, a starter as a sophomore, returns after missing his junior year because of injury and the Longhorns gain with the transfer of DT Larryjr Moore from DeSoto. Next: Sept. 12 at Trinity (Euless).

18. Union, Tulsa (0-0)
Returning starters: Seven on offense, six on defense from 13-1 team. Outlook: The Redskins won the 6A title last season and return with an experienced team, though one minus RB Jeremy Smith (1,664 yards and 30 TDs last season) and WR Tracy Moore (1,023 yards receiving and 15 TDs), both now at Oklahoma State. QB Chase Boyce threw for 2,300 yards and 23 TDs and can count on throwing to WRs Thomas and James Roberson. Dalton Duckett and Alec Henry are the only returning starters on the offensive line. The Redskins' secondary is one strength of their defense, led by leading tackler Luke Snider (86 tackles) and Jacob Rice. Union will get tested early by opening at home vs. improving Broken Arrow and a game at archrival Jenks in the second week. Opens: Friday vs. Broken Arrow.

19. Maine South, Park Ridge, Ill. (1-0)
Returning starters: Three on offense, three on defense from 14-0 team. Result: Defeated Schaumburg 64-35 on Aug. 28 as QB Tyler Benz passed for 232 yards and TDs of 23 and 48 yards and ran for three TDs and Matt Perez rushed for 117 yards and four TDs. Outlook: The defending state 8A champ should be solid again despite losing QB Charlie Goro to Vanderbilt and eight other offensive starters. The Hawks will count heavily on Benz, at QB/OLB RB/LB Perez, who had 2,600 all-purpose yards and 31 TDs last season. Maine South also has a good-sized offensive line, anchored by T Victor Nelson, who is 6-7, 300 pounds. Next: Friday vs. Wheaton-Warrenville South (Wheaton).

20. Liberty, Bethlehem, Pa. (0-0)
Returning starters: Six on offense, six on defense from 15-1 team. Result: Idle. Outlook:Anthony Gonzalez (1,580 yards and 12 TDs passing and 1,670 yards and 24 TDs rushing) led the Hurricanes to the state 4A title and is back at QB to run a spread attack. He might be the best two-way player in the country. He had 96 tackles at CB last season. If the Hurricanes can open up 2-0, they will be in good shape, but they must get past North Penn (Lansdale) and Parkland (Bethlehem). Defense is led by DE Dontae Holmes, LB Rashad Knight and LB Drew Persa. Opens: Friday at North Penn (Lansdale).

21. Prattville, Ala. (0-1)
Returning starters: Seven on offense, six on defense from 13-1 team. Result: Lost 14-11 vs. North Gwinnett (Lawrenceville) on Aug. 29. Outlook: Three-time defending 6A champ has won 30 in a row in-state. Senior QB Sam Gibson, an LSU recruit, returns after throwing for 1,083 yards and 11 TDs in the regular season while rushing for 480 yards and eight TDs. Another key returnee is junior WR Cornelius Fenderson. The defense is led by DB Nick Perry, who had 37 tackles and four interceptions. The Lions will play a home game Sept. 25 vs. No. 5 Don Bosco (Ramsey, N.J.). Next: Thursday vs. Robert E. Lee (Montgomery).

22. Madison Central, Madison, Miss. (2-0)
Returning starters: Nine on offense, seven on defense from 12-2 team. Result: Won 28-16 at Hattiesburg as Joe Price ran for TDs of 62 and 15 yards on Aug. 21. QB Peyton Johnson passed for 191 yards and a 48-yard TD and ran for two 1-yard TDs, all in the first half of a 43-28 defeat of Melrose (Memphis) on Aug. 28. Outook: The Jaguars return with most of their starters back. Senior QB Johnson leads an option attack. DEs Carlton Martin and Bryon Bennett pace the defense. Martin, a state champion powerlifter, played DT last season but will be able to utilize his quickness more at DE this season. Next: Friday vs. Provine (Jackson).

23. St. Bonaventure, Ventura, Calif. (0-0)
Returning starters: Seven on offense, seven on defense from 14-1 team. Result: Idle. Outlook: The Seraphs have won two consecutive state Div. III titles and should be fine again, even without All-USA RB Patrick Hall. QB Logan Meyer is back after passing for 2,311 yards and 24 TDs and Devon Blackledge is back after rushing for 1,189 yards and 17 TDs last year as a junior. They'll have a solid line to work behind, led by Southern Cal recruit Giovanni DiPoalo and sophomore David Barajas. LB Dylan Davis returns to lead a defense that allowed 7.7 points a game over the past seven games of the season. Tough games include Long Beach Poly (Long Beach) on Sept. 11 and Crespi (Anaheim) on Sept. 25. Opens: Friday at St. John Bosco (Bellflower).

24. Skyline, Sammamish, Wash. (0-0)
Returning starters: Nine on offense, eight on defense from 14-0 team. Result: Idle. Outlook: In two seasons as Skyline's starting QB, Jake Heaps has two state titles and no losses. The Brigham Young recruit threw for 2,910 yards and 38 TDs last year and has WR Kasen Williams, a state high jump champion, to throw to again. Tough games include a home matchup with No. 7 Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, Calif.) on Sept. 18. Opens: Saturday vs. Jesuit (Portland).

25. DeMatha, Hyattsville, Md. (0-0)
Returning starters: Seven on offense and seven on defense from 10-2 team. Result: Idle. Outlook: The Stags graduated 10 players who signed college letters-of-intent, but there's plenty left in the pipeline. DeMatha has won six consecutive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference titles. RB Marcus Coker, who rushed for 1,174 yards and 18 TDs, returns and can count on running behind OL Arie Kouandjio, a top recruit who is 6-6 and 315. Pitt recruit Jeff Knox could play at WR and RB. Big games include Sept. 12 at Gilman (Baltimore). Opens: Saturday at Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro).

USAToday - Two California coaches open up season with 344 career wins

2009-09-03T12:35:00.003-04:00

By Jim Halley, USA TODAY

Football coaches Bob Ladouceur and Marijon Ancich each have had longtime success at California Catholic high schools after becoming head coaches in their 20s. They also share a disdain for the number that joins them — a state-record 344 wins.

Ladouceur, 55, has coached for the last 30 years at De La Salle (Concord), which is No. 14 in the USA TODAY Super 25 rankings. His Spartans went 12-2 last season, including a loss in the state title game. It looked as if Ladouceur would take the record this season, but Ancich, 68, came out of retirement last winter after four years to return to St. Paul (Santa Fe Springs).

"I'm not even thinking about that," Ladouceur says of the mark. "I'm thinking about Serra (San Mateo, Calif.) and how we're going to move the ball on them Friday. For me, I've won enough games. Maybe when I was starting out, I was thinking, we've got to win some games around here. When I came upon 100 or 200 or 300 wins, I thought that was kind of neat, but it really wasn't a huge motivator for me."

Ancich said he came out of retirement after four years to revitalize St. Paul, which went 4-6 last season. The Swordsmen play La Mirada on Friday in their opener.

"The record never really was a factor," Ancich says. "It's just the principle of the thing, the challenge of trying to get a small school to compete. We're the smallest male population in the state to be playing the guys we're playing against — Crespi (Encino), Bishop Amat (La Puenta) and St. John Bosco (Bellflower). Just in a short few years, the structure of the program went under tremendous changes. We have to restructure everything."

De La Salle and St. Paul have never met. Both credit their success to relying on discipline and year-round conditioning. They are tied for 12th in wins nationally among active coaches, but Ladouceur's winning percentage of 94% leads active coaches nationally. Ancich's winning percentage is 73.6%.

"When I started out, we were hitting the weights really hard, year-round," Ladouceur says. "Winning is an outcome of a lot of things you do right. A lot of it is discipline and accountability."

Ancich says being better conditioned and disciplined was the only way his teams could beat deeper, more talented teams.

"The hardest thing is reinstating the rules and regulations of being on time, being at practice and that kind of stuff," Ancich says.

USAToday - High school football hero replays tackle of armed girl

2009-09-03T11:57:00.004-04:00

By Chris Joyner, USA TODAY

September 3, 2009 - Kaleb Eulls is used to hearing cheers for his heroics on the football field, but the Yazoo County, Miss., high school senior's quick thinking Tuesday morning on a school bus has earned him a different kind of acclaim.

Eulls, 18, tackled and disarmed a 14-year-old girl who had pulled a .380 semiautomatic handgun from her bag and was threatening students and demanding the driver pull over, County Sheriff Tommy Vaughn said. Vaughn, who has reviewed the incident on the bus security camera, said the courage Eulls showed was incredible.

"Even though he was raised right, what put him in the thought to go above and beyond like that, I don't know," Vaughn said. Kaleb's mother, Ora Eulls, said Wednesday, "I'm thanking God today that he is still here and everything turned out all right. "He told me last night that it really just dawned on him last night what happened. It was just a reaction," she said.

Vaughn said the girl, who is being held in the county youth detention center, said she was the victim of bullies. She has been charged with possession of a firearm on school property and 22 counts each of attempted aggravated assault and kidnapping. USA TODAY does not publish the names of minors charged with crimes.

Because the crime was committed with a gun and the girl is over 13, she meets the criteria to be charged as an adult, Yazoo County District Attorney James Powell said.

Eulls, a 6-foot-4, 255-pound quarterback and defensive end for Yazoo County High School, said he was asleep when the girl boarded the bus. When she pulled out the gun, one of Eulls' three younger sisters — Kimberly Clark, 16; Ashley Dortch, 14; and Bobbie Dortch, 12, who were among the 23 people on the bus — shook him awake, he said. Eulls said he tried to get the girl's attention.

"I kept my distance for a second, she kind of glanced away or blinked and I got to her," he said.

"I just basically thought about all the lives that were in danger. It all happened in about five minutes. I'm thankful that it turned out the way it did." Eulls said the girl was shouting about people "picking on her" and throwing paper at her. If she was being bullied on the bus, he said he had not seen it happen on the morning bus rides. "I really didn't know her too well," he said.
School officials said they do not know what prompted the student to board the school bus this week with a pistol.

Assistant Superintendant Mickey Rivers said she did not approach her teachers about the bullying and that she had just transferred into the school. "Every one of her teachers said she just sat in class and never talked to anybody," he said. In investigating Tuesday's incident, Rivers said one of the girl's cousins said someone threw paper at her as she exited the bus Monday evening, but it did not appear to anger her. "Her cousin said she even turned around and grinned," he said. Yazoo County School Superintendent Jack Nicholson said he was "extremely proud" of Eulls. "He's a fine young man, he's a good athlete, and he's a good person," he said. "No one knows how they will act in scenarios like that." Nicholson also praised the bus driver, Katie Boddy, for trying to calm the girl while bringing the bus to a stop. "Her reactions were just textbook, " he said.

Yazoo County High School head football coach Matt Williams said Eulls' teammates at Tuesday's practice were calling him "Superman" and "Hancock," the reckless superhero portrayed by Will Smith in the movie of the same name.

"I've known Kaleb since he was a seventh-grader, and to see him grow up into the man he is now, is just humbling to me, " Williams said.

Assistant Superintendent Mickey Rivers said the girl's teachers say she did not approach them about being bullied. Rivers said the girl transferred to Yazoo County this year. Eulls has verbally committed to play for the Mississippi State University football team next fall, his mother says.

Joyner reports for The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger

USAToday - At some schools, budget cuts put the kibosh on sports

2009-09-02T09:45:00.003-04:00

By Marlen Garcia, USA Today

September 2, 2009 - Instead of gearing up to run cross country for Grove City High School in Ohio, Andy Bennett is training for a marathon.

It will give the 16-year-old some consolation because sports programs and clubs at his school have been shut down. An hour after the last bell each afternoon, it's lights out at the school.

Bennett and his classmates won't have homecoming, prom or a student government — activities that, like sports, are fixtures in American high schools but no longer exist at Grove City because of a financial crisis.

That's the plight of all students who attend South-Western City Schools, which serves part of Columbus and nearby towns and is Ohio's sixth-largest school district. The district has been in dire financial straits for years and is being squeezed further by the economic downturn. By canceling activities, the district cut $2.5 million in expenses, district spokeswoman Sandy Nekoloff says.

"I thought it was the worst thing in the world," Bennett says of the school board's decision to cancel activities after a proposed property tax hike was rejected by voters in August, the third time it failed.

In this district, no one has been spared, not even Grove City High's marching band. "There's no football games. There's nowhere for the marching band to march," Nekoloff says.

High schools across the USA are reporting that the recession has led to similar financial difficulties for extracurricular programs, forcing cost-cutting that is particularly painful now, as fall sports seasons open. From Hawaii to Rhode Island, school systems are trimming compensation for coaches, eliminating transportation, adding or increasing athletic fees for students, holding fundraising drives, cutting back on night games to save electricity costs and dropping some sports and related events altogether.

In Nevada, this "is going to be the worst year financially for school districts in history — and 2010-11 is going to be worse," says Eddie Bonine, executive director of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association. "We may be told to do more next year." In Michigan, Jamie Gent, athletics director at Haslett High near Lansing, says, "There's no money, period. We're coming to a stage in the next three years that if things don't get better, (it could damage) sports altogether. Who do you pick? What stays? What sport doesn't stay?"

Bennett says he was close to transferring to a school outside his district so he could earn his third varsity letter in cross country. His parents were willing to pay more than $3,000 for him to attend an out-of-district public school or private school, he says.

He knows of other families who are paying steep tuition so their teens can play sports. Such a move from Grove City would have been difficult academically and socially, Bennett says. He is a top student taking Advanced Placement courses and didn't want to hurt his chances of getting into his dream college, the Air Force Academy. "I've been in the Grove City public system forever," he says. "Switching to another school with no friends was not very appealing."
Some athletes may miss out

The mood at school is grim, others say. "We're going to have all these idle hands," says Drew Eschbach, who was the cross country coach. Top-tier athletes will be OK, Eschbach says, because they will transfer to schools with better-funded programs or form their own clubs. He says he worries about average athletes who will miss out on the collegiality and sense of belonging that a team or club can provide.

Some in the community have accused school system officials of canceling activities to strong-arm residents into passing a tax increase. Nekoloff says activities were canceled after other cuts failed to help solve the financial problems. "We've had $22 million in reductions and more than 330 positions reduced over the past three years," she says. Residents will vote on a scaled-back property tax increase in November. The district estimates the new proposal would cost the owner of a $100,000 home an additional $18.89 a month in property taxes. The median household income for the area was $54,965 in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

District officials are studying a pay-to-play model, which increasingly has been used across the country. Nekoloff says if South-Western's proposed tax increase passes, the board could bring back activities under this system and students would share costs with the district. At most schools, pay-to-play fees cover a portion of a team's expenses and school districts kick in the rest. But those amounts can be disproportionate, as is the case at Brighton High School in Michigan.

Brighton offers 32 sports and fields 98 teams, enviable by any school's standards. But the district funds only 38% of the athletic department's nearly $1.5 million in expenditures; the other 62% is self-generated through fundraisers and fees, athletics director John Thompson says. Athletes pay $175 a sport, although the fee for a third sport is waived. Students also pay transportation fees ranging from $30 to $70 a sport. Fees are waived for those with financial hardship.

"We've started chipping away at the model that existed when I was a kid," Thompson says. "Unfortunately, one day sports will be out there for people who have money. We can say we'll take care of those without money, but I can tell you it will be the kids with talent. The average kid is going to get left behind. That whole development factor, they're going to miss out on it."

Contributing: Geoff Kimmerly of the Lansing (Mich.) State Journal; Chris Gabel of the Reno Gazette-Journal

NYT - In Hawaii, High School Sports Are Far From Paradise

2009-09-01T16:20:00.006-04:00

By Dave Caldwell

PHILADELPHIA — August 31, 2009. Shane Victorino, the Phillies’ All-Star center fielder, is a long way from Maui, where he grew up, but he still tries his best to keep up with what is going on at home.

About a month ago, he said, he read a newspaper article online that hit him hard. The Hawaii High School Athletic Association, walloped by recent state budget cuts, had pleaded for financial help from private citizens and corporations. The fledgling fund-raising drive was called Save Our Sports, or S.O.S., and two banks, two foundations and the head of the association had pledged a total of $430,000.

Victorino, 28, called his father, Mike, a city councilman living in Wailuku, a town near the sugarcane fields that cover Maui’s arid central plain, and asked him more about the situation. Then Victorino, an Eagle Scout who was once a multisport star at St. Anthony High School on Maui, told the association’s chairman, Keith Amemiya, that he would send a check for $10,000.

At last count, officials had collected more than $700,000 of their $1.2 million goal, helping the association keep sports seasons going and avoid the prospect of forcing students to pay to play.

“It was almost like an obligation to do that,” Victorino said before a recent Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park. “It tells me something. In Hawaiian culture, everybody’s got each other’s back. I’m not saying that doesn’t happen anywhere else, but it is true in Hawaii. Family is No. 1.”

A year after the association narrowly avoided a cut in state financing, it watched the state government slash $2.4 million this summer of the $6.7 million it had budgeted for athletic programs covering about 25,000 students statewide.

Hawaii has no top-level professional sports teams and limited college offerings beyond the University of Hawaii, so high school sports carry greater significance for many. Residents identify themselves by high school alma mater. Everyone knows President Obama attended Punahou School in Honolulu.

But water, and the travel required to cross it, complicate matters for an organization overseeing statewide competition for 95 schools.

“On Lanai and Molokai, every game is really an away game,” Amemiya said in a telephone interview from his office in Honolulu. With a slight chuckle, he added, “You can’t drive there, or your bus will sink.”

Victorino said St. Anthony, a private school, could fly to most away games, but he knew he was lucky. The Maui Interscholastic League includes two high schools on Lanai and Molokai, and getting from those islands to Maui is expensive, complicated and time consuming.

Camie Kimball, the athletic director at Molokai High School, a public school with about 330 students in grades 9 through 12, said sports teams usually must ride a ferry to Maui. The ride takes about 1 hour 45 minutes each way, and Kimball said the round-trip fare ran from $80 to $105 per student.

When a team arrives in Lahaina, Maui, players wait until a coach catches a cab ride to fetch a bus kept nearby at Lahainaluna High School.

For a tournament in August on Oahu, the Molokai girls’ volleyball team slept at a nearby high school and cooked meals in the cafeteria.

“There’s not a whole lot to do on this island,” Kimball said in a telephone interview from her office on Molokai. “We don’t even have a movie theater anymore. We don’t have a whole lot of industry.”

Molokai’s unemployment rate topped 16 percent in July, and Kimball said several athletes at the high school would probably have had to drop out had they been required to pay fees. Amemiya and his wife, Bonny, donated $30,000 to the S.O.S. fund in July, including $15,000 for Molokai High School to cover interisland travel costs.

“When times are tough here, people pitch in, especially for sports — and this is gender-neutral,” said Jack Tsui, a former president at First Hawaiian Bank who is now with the Clarence T. C. Ching Foundation, which pledged $200,000 to the drive. “I’m really not overly surprised. I thought people in the state would help out.”

They have, Amemiya said, often with $20 checks. But Amemiya said tourists had contributed to the S.O.S. fund after learning about it. The drive ends in October, and Amemiya said he thought the goal would be met.

“This is a need-to-have,” Mufi Hannemann, the mayor of Honolulu, said in a telephone interview. “Sports is not a nice-to-have, it’s a need-to-have. The importance of the issue is sky-high. People here get it about the value of sports.”

For his part, Victorino said he could not imagine instituting a fee for sports. “You shouldn’t have to pay to play as a kid,” he said.

LA Times - Recession Squeezes Southland High School Sports

2009-08-12T00:25:00.003-04:00

By Ben Bolch

August 2, 2009 - Coaching stipends are being slashed. Vice principals are being forced to double as athletic directors. Trainers' salaries are being eliminated. And that's just in the Manhattan Beach Unified School District.

The sagging economy is pummeling high school athletic departments throughout Southern California, with nearly every school being hit in some way. "It's a bad deal for everybody," said Thom Simmons, a spokesman for the California Interscholastic Federation's Southern Section, the governing athletic body for 571 local schools. "When tax revenue is down, the level of services has to go down. And any time you have to cut services, whether it's for drama, band or athletics, it's just a bad deal. "Simmons described the cuts as cyclical and recalled similar crises in 1978, when the passage of Proposition 13 severely curtailed the amount of real estate taxes collected in the state, and during a downturn in the housing market in the early 1990s.

The 104 schools in the cash-strapped Los Angeles City Section are being pinched particularly hard this time around.Among the changes being made for the 2009-10 athletic year, junior varsity playoffs are being eliminated; baseball and softball teams must shave five games off their league schedules to reduce travel costs; and 75 fewer buses will be provided for wrestling tournaments. Also, freshman-sophomore basketball schedules are being moved to the winter to consolidate travel expenses, and efforts will be made to combine teams from a single school going to the same destination to use fewer buses. The measures are expected to save $448,000, City Section Commissioner Barbara Fiege said -- and that might not be enough. Officials are discussing the possible implementation of a transportation fee for athletes in 2010-11."For the current year, we were able to make the necessary reductions," Fiege said. "However, we also realize that more cuts may be made next year." Not all of the news is bad when it comes to the effect of a slumping economy on high school sports. Attendance was up "across the board" last year at Southern Section playoff events, Simmons said, primarily because high school sports provided an inexpensive entertainment option for budget-conscious families.

As a result, some athletic departments received a small financial bonus through their profit-sharing arrangement with the section. Parents also have stepped up to fund new athletic programs such as lacrosse, a sport that is booming amid the recession.According to statistics released by the CIF, participation in boys' and girls' lacrosse was up 45% from two years ago. "Usually the last sport to be added is the first to get cut," Simmons said. "But because parents have stepped forward and are funding these sports, they've found a way to keep them."

Shrinking Economy Penalizes High School Sports

2009-07-16T20:52:00.005-04:00

Budget cuts are forcing parents in more communities, although not all, to fund athletics.

By SCOTT MARTINDALE, The Orange County Register

If parents in the Saddleback Valley Unified School District want assistant coaches for sports programs this fall, the families will need to pony up the cash themselves. The 34,000-student district has cut the positions from its high schools – along with all funding for roller hockey and lacrosse – as a cost-savings measure.

Conversely, athletic programs at the county's largest school district, Santa Ana Unified, will remain almost untouched. Parents won't be asked to subsidize the cost of bus transportation to away games, and won't need to raise funds to pay for basics like equipment and uniforms. The biggest fear right now is the possible loss of athletic secretaries this fall, but a final decision hasn't been made.

As high schools cope with drastic funding shortfalls, they've been forced to make tough budget decisions about athletics and other extracurricular programs, widening the disparity of sports offerings – and funding available – in Orange County's diverse communities.

"It's really a question of priorities that school districts have to make," said Chris Corliss, the Orange County Department of Education's program coordinator for health, sports and physical education services.

"High school sports are an integral part of the high school experience, but it's nothing that's mandated," Corliss said. "I would predict some significant belt-tightening in the next few years. Coaches will be lost. Parents will be asked for more in the very near future, whether through fundraising or direct contributions."

While districts like Santa Ana Unified have avoided deep cuts to sports programs so far – the district's high proportion of socioeconomically disadvantaged families wouldn't be able to help subsidize sports – many other local districts have been forced to scale back their athletic offerings.

In response, booster groups increasingly are being tapped to raise funds and, at times, beg and cajole parents into writing checks for hundreds of dollars per season, per athlete, per sport.
Mission Viejo parent Linda Robert, who helps head up fundraising efforts for Trabuco Hills High School's roller hockey team, says that with the loss of all Saddleback Valley Unified financial support, the team must now come up with about an additional $3,400 a year. That's on top of the $1,000 or more that parents individually pay to outfit their children with expensive gear and equipment, she said.

"We sell food, do garage sales, restaurant benefit nights, as many fundraisers as we can do," said Robert, who has an incoming freshman hockey player and an older hockey player who graduated this year. "We tell parents going in, 'This is how much we need to raise, and if we don't, you are going to have to make up the difference.'"

SHRINKING PROGRAMS

Across California, high schools are paring coaching staffs, wiping out or combining lower-level teams such as freshmen and frosh-soph, requiring parents to pay for bus transportation, and cutting down the number of away games each season, officials say. In the Garden Grove Unified School District, officials are planning to cut up to two games per season from some sports beginning this fall, said Frank Alvarado, a board member of the Orange County Athletic Directors Association.

Public schools can't force parents to pay for sports – the California Supreme Court made that clear in a 1984 ruling – but there's no law that says school districts must offer sports programs.
There's also nothing to stop parents and student athletes from seeking out donations and sponsorships wherever they can, although the sour economy is making it an increasingly difficult feat.

"Parents are being hammered with so many other things at school that sometimes they say, 'No, I don't want to raise the money,'" said Rossmoor parent Larry Strawther, who publishes a popular sports-focused e-mail newsletter on Los Alamitos High School athletics. "Merchants are being hit hard by so many different entities," he added. "The level of donations is going down and is harder to find, as the cost of sports is going up."

In the past few years, the size of the printed program for Los Alamitos High's boys basketball team – an annual publication that includes player rosters and game schedules – has been cut in half, Strawther said, primarily because local businesses have pulled out their ads. What was once 80 to 90 pages now is now 44 pages and shrinking.

FINANCIAL HARDSHIPS

The pressure on athletic booster groups also is increasing as parents lose their jobs and can no longer write a check to cover the cost of the sport, much less keep their own child fully outfitted in expensive gear.

When a student can't afford to participate, other parents inevitably step in and help pick up the tab, booster groups say. "We all know our school doesn't have the money, especially in today's economy," said Penny Sales, president of La Habra High School's football booster group. "We're a championship program, and if we want to stay a championship program, we just know we're going to have to do more fundraising." Some parents are keeping their children out of sports altogether because of the cost, officials say, or are forcing them to pick one sport per year or per season.

Rancho Santa Margarita parent Angie Hunt told her 14-year-old son, Adam, that he couldn't play both football and roller hockey at Trabuco Hills High this fall. "My son would have done both, but we didn't have the money, so he had to choose one or the other," said Hunt, whose son will be a freshman. "It's sad; the cost limits their choices."

At nearby Mission Viejo High School, where funding for all assistant coaches has been eliminated, school athletic director Troy Roelen said he expects to lose about 20 of his 95 coaches this fall. The remainder of his coaching staff will do double duty.

"I told my coaching staff we are thin and we need to make do," said Roelen, an English teacher at the school. "I've talked to parents and they agree to make it work. But at the current rate, if the cost of athletics keeps going up, we're going to start losing students."

eMarketer - How Can Advertisers Get Through To Teens?

2009-07-16T00:52:00.010-04:00

June 30, 2009 - The first generation to grow up digital is online nearly all the time.

According to the “Teen Advertising Study” by Fuse Marketing and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, 45% of US teen Internet users were heavy users of the Web.

Thirty-eight percent characterized themselves as average users, and 16% were light users. Teen Web users were active users of online media—90% used e-mail, 83% watched online video and 72% were social networkers. Authors of the survey wrote that the most effective ad content for reaching teens had “people like me enjoying the product” and humor.

Scholastic Programs Are Feeling the Pinch as Financing for Sports Dries Up

2009-07-15T17:12:00.005-04:00

MIAMI (AP) — Tyler Peters has wrapped up his high school athletic career. Now he can only feel sympathy for his friends who are underclassmen at Coral Gables Senior High.

Across the country this spring, the recession has taken its toll on high school athletic programs. As states and school districts have tried to shore up their budgets, Florida has taken some of the most drastic steps.

The Florida High School Athletic Association is considering sweeping, two-year schedule changes with all sports except football canceling some matches, meets or games. The changes were approved earlier this year, but officials backed off the plan, saying they would take it up again at a later date.

A swimmer in high school, the 18-year-old Peters said he might have given it up if his season had been cut down.

“If I had three or four meets a year — the season’s so short,” Peters said. “It kind of seems like you’re doing that for nothing. That’s a part of the experience. If you take those competitions away, you feel like you’re practicing for something less important.”

When the fall season starts, many young athletes will feel the effects of cost-cutting measures.
A high school football coach in Washington said he would have tattered uniforms patched instead of requesting new jerseys. A Virginia school district is exploring transportation plans in which teams would share buses. And throughout California, which faces a grim financial situation, districts are bracing for cuts that could devastate entire programs.

“Help,” said Marie Ishida, executive director of the California Interscholastic Federation. “It could be dire.”

Bob Kanaby, executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations, said a handful of other states had also made across-the-board changes to help districts cope with the financial climate. For example, New York has shortened its sports schedules, and in Maine, fewer schools will be allowed to compete in the state playoffs.

“Certainly in these economic times, we want to try and draw balance and perspective between educational experiences for young people and the realization that our nation is in a serious economic situation,” Kanaby said. “So there is concern, and there is action being done.“ He added: “But first and foremost, I think across the board that whatever occurs within a school district of a state that it’s very clear that these are things that are affecting the lives of young people, and people will do whatever they can to minimize that effect as much as possible.”

Since the economy tumbled, programs have found themselves on the chopping block and districts are asking students to chip in and help cover the costs.

Some examples:

In California, some high schools have eliminated coaching stipends and decided they will ask students and parents to contribute donations.

Officials with the Kent (Wash.) School District, located about 30 minutes outside Seattle, will cut $110,000 in athletic funding, said district athletic director Dave Lutes. That’s still an improvement from the original proposal of $760,000 in reductions, which Lutes said would have devastated the program.

Some high school coaches at Mohawk High School in Oregon worked without pay this spring. A baseball coach at another program in the state, McKenzie High School, put his salary in a bank account and said he would donate it back to the school if necessary.

Because of statewide financing cuts, Santa Fe (N.M.) Public Schools were considering switching middle school athletic programs to a club-team format. Those changes were eventually rejected, the district spokeswoman Erica J. Landry said, but officials cut two high school athletic managers for a savings of about $160,000 to $180,000 a year. Even with those staff reductions, Landry said athletic programs might be on the chopping block again next year.

“The problem is that you don’t have the money,” said Dan Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators. “And if you don’t have the money, you have to make tough choices. That’s what I think is really unfortunate about this. The resources just aren’t there and we don’t know what the effects are going to be.”

For some young athletes, the situation could have been even worse.

When officials in Maine mulled dropping a meet that the runners and their coaches had long fought to include on their schedule, Melody Lam, a 17-year-old distance runner at Mt. Blue High School, helped organize a protest before an indoor meet in January at Colby College.

On the day the Maine Principals Association voted on the proposal, Lam skipped school so she could be there to hear the results. The meet was saved.

“In the end,” she said, “I think it was kind of hard for them to ignore our opinion.”

High School Programs Across Bay Area Reeling From Cuts

2009-07-15T16:01:00.006-04:00

By Ben Enos

July 4, 2009 Bay Area News Group. As California's Legislature struggles to come to a consensus on how to fix the state's ailing economy, school districts throughout Alameda, Contra Costa, San Joaquin and San Mateo counties are preparing for the worst when it comes to funding extracurricular activities.

Sitting directly in the cross hairs are athletic programs. Most people can't imagine a high school without sports, which sometimes are taken for granted as an indispensable part of high school culture.

That perception is about to change.

To make ends meet, many districts have decided to slash their athletic budgets for the 2009-10 school year. Whether it comes in the form of eliminating coaching stipends or merely asking teams to carpool rather than rent a bus, the impact will be felt across the Bay Area.

Nowhere is the problem more evident than in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District, which covers Concord, Pleasant Hill, Clayton and part of Walnut Creek. On June 16, the district's board of trustees voted to slash its entire contribution to its six high school athletic programs for the 2009-10 school year, a cut of $721,400.

The move left high school sports essentially unfunded and forced the district to introduce a new program — one where athletes are asked to donate money to play — to fund its programs.

The plan relies heavily on parent/athlete contributions to fund individual programs. For instance, an individual football player will be asked to donate $300 to play. That's in addition to a one-time $100 district transportation fee that each athlete has to pay.

"To think people have to pay for it, in addition to everything else they have to pay for, shouldn't be acceptable in the United States," said state Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, who represents California's 7th district, where the MDUSD sits.

Athletes in smaller sports will pay less (sport donations range from $300 for football to $50 for club sports such as water polo and golf), but there is no discount for multisport athletes other than a $600 per family ceiling.

The "pay to play" scenario is something every district has tried to stay away from, but it has now become a reality that has left many parents and athletes wondering about the future.

"I think it's worth it (to pay) to play football and not have to move," said Concord High football player Ricky Lloyd. "If we didn't have sports, I think I'd have to move to another district to play. I don't really care about the money as long as I get to play."

The story is similar throughout the Bay Area. The San Mateo Union High School District is planning to cut $50,000 from its athletic budget for the upcoming year, leaving athletic directors hopeful that boosters and other donors will step up to fill in the gaps.

Aragon athletic director Steve Sell even told staff writer Glenn Reeves that any teams taking part in tournaments will have to go to parents and the booster club to pay for their expenses.

As tough as things are now, consider the history of the West Contra Costa Unified School District for some perspective. Thanks to the passage of a $10 million parcel tax in 2008, the district will keep its sports fully funded this season.

That wasn't always the case. In 2004, the WCCUSD found itself in the same place many districts do now. Facing unprecedented budget cuts, the district elected to cut sports, music programs and library services.

"It was kind of trying because schools were going to give up sports," El Cerrito athletic director George Austin said. "It looked pretty bleak prior to getting the taxpayers to vote for a levy to save us."

Faced with the loss of all athletic programs, voters passed an $8 million parcel tax that restored funding to the affected programs. Since then, the WCCUSD has sought taxpayer help twice more, both times with positive results.

That money could run out after the 2009-10 season though, which means the district could find itself in the same dire straits as 2004. Rumors of another parcel tax on the ballot for the 2010 election are already swirling.

"Every time you go back to the well, it becomes a harder and harder thing to get done," Austin said. "We are lucky this year, but this will be the last year that we're living on borrowed time."

One district that may provide the exception to the trend is Oakland Unified. Thanks to an already-frugal approach, sport-specific fundraising and help from both the A's and Raiders, Oakland Athletic League commissioner Michael Moore said he does not expect any cuts to athletic programs. Athletes have not had to pay participation fees, and Moore said he does not expect that to change.

When it comes to high school athletics, the budget crunch isn't necessarily just an urban problem.

The Pleasanton Unified School District voted recently to eliminate $289,000 allocated for coaching stipends next season, instead asking boosters and parents to make up the difference. Livermore Unified is cutting its total athletic budget from $100,000 for two schools to just $50,000. Castro Valley Unified is implementing a donation system of its own, asking for athletes to pay $150 for a single sport, $100 for a second sport, and $50 per additional sport.

In almost every district, costs are being passed to the parents. "I think it would be great if the state and the districts had the money to fund these programs, but I think if the only way to have these programs is to charge these participants, we have to do that," said Granada athletic director Clark Conover. "I just can't imagine a high school without sports."

In Cutting Sports Funding, Everyone Loses

2009-07-15T14:34:00.004-04:00

By Jay Mathews,

February 02, 2009 - Washington Post. Times are tough, particularly in our schools. We don't have the money, beleaguered education officials say, for every student who wants to play games after class. Some school sports have to go. Loudoun County is talking about cutting junior varsity lacrosse and all freshman sports. Fairfax County's proposed budget would end girls' gymnastics. Other teams are in jeopardy. The public high schools can't afford them anymore.

And yet many people who reflect for a moment will remember their own school days and see this kind of financial austerity as shortsighted, like cutting back on English classes because most kids already speak that language. Many of us remember some competitive activity, usually in high school, that became a vital force in our adolescence. It gave us a self-awareness and self-confidence that changed us forever.

None of us read all of the 481,563 articles published last year on the early life and struggles of the soon-to-be president of the United States, but most of us know that if Barack Obama had not discovered basketball he would not have become the leader he is today. On the opposite end of that scale of significance, I compiled the worst record ever at my high school, 0-14, in league play as the tennis team's No. 1 singles player. I didn't care much about winning. I got some exercise, and something even better. I was a total nerd, but I could strut around with my very own varsity letter, just like the football players. I still carry that morale boost.

At this point, professional researchers are grumbling. I am offering mere anecdotal evidence. In an era of economic uncertainty, we need solid data, and for once I have it. Education policy analyst Craig Jerald is about to publish a paper on the 21st-century skills movement that cites much recent research on the importance of after-school activities, particularly sports, in young people's future lives.

Jerald accumulated this data for the Center for Public Education at the National School Boards Association in Alexandria. In previous columns, I dismissed 21st-century skills as a fancy new label for good academic traits and discipline, but it might be more than that. Near the end of Jerald's report, he moves from the math and literacy skills that everyone talks about to something called "interpersonal competencies," more commonly known as life and career skills. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills says these include flexibility and adaptability, initiative and self-direction, social and cross-cultural skills, productivity and accountability, and leadership and responsibility.

In that last category, Jerald scores big for young athletes who are looking for a way to stop the bean counters from canceling the best part of their school day. He quotes a 2005 paper by economists Peter Kuhn and Catherine Weinberger for the Journal of Labor Economics: "Controlling for cognitive skills," they said, "men who occupied leadership positions in high school earn more as adults. The pure leadership-wage effect varies, depending on definitions and time period, from 4 percent to 33 percent." A Mathematica Policy Research study also shows that although math had the biggest impact of any skill on later earnings, playing sports and having a leadership role in high school also were significant factors.

Maybe that has nothing to do with gutting it out on the last lap of the backstroke or launching off the pommel horse for good old Beltway High. Maybe athletic talent produces leadership skills even if you never go out for school sports. But research indicates otherwise. Kuhn and Weinberger found evidence, Jerald said, "that leadership is not just a natural talent, but one that can be developed by participation in extracurricular activities." Christy Lleras last year wrote in Social Science Research that students who participated in sports and other extracurricular activities in high school had higher earnings 10 years later, even when compared with those with similar test scores.

I am typing this the same day I watched two splendid young educators, working as instructional coaches, put the math and reading faculties of a previously troubled D.C. middle school through a series of skill-building exercises. The coaches' work seems to have helped test scores. I asked these leaders of teachers about their high school days. One was captain of his swimming team. The other was captain of her soccer team.

If cutting back on sports means we will have fewer people like that to help save our schools, isn't that a false economy? Helping teenagers discover that with grit and teamwork they can do something very well is not an aspect of schooling I want to sacrifice, even if it saves a few thousand dollars.

From Washington Times - School budget cuts threaten gains

2009-03-11T10:25:00.000-04:00

Little stimulus relief expected

By Andrea Billups

Marching bands are silenced. Sports programs, summer school and driver's education are being slashed. Schools are facing closure and consolidation.

Teachers, many now vacuuming their own classrooms, have been told to do away with space heaters and office refrigerators because they consume expensive electricity. Even the school year is being shortened as districts across the nation are making hard choices amid a worsening recession as they deal with budget woes.

"If school districts think it's bad now, it's likely to get worse in the next couple of years," said Michael Petrilli, vice president of programs and policy at the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation in Washington, who paints a grim portrait of the economy's influence on education. He noted that as local revenues from property taxes continue to plummet, many districts likely will lose even more funding as foreclosures mount with increasing job losses.

Even as some hope that the economic stimulus will bring some relief, he said, children are the ones who ultimately lose as education bears a big hit from the downturn.

TWT RELATED STORY:Obama to build on Bush education plan

"I think the truth of this is that this crisis has taken the focus away from educational improvements and raising achievement and put the focus on simply battening down the hatches and trying to make it through," he said.

"I would be surprised to see the progress we've made in recent years continue, and I am not optimistic that this is a period where we will see strong gains in student achievement."

In Florida's Broward County, the school board, facing $160 million in budget cuts, this week debated killing several middle and high school sports programs, based on participation rates. In adjoining Dade County, two mothers outraged over state budget cuts went on a seven-day hunger strike, camping out across from Ronald Reagan Doral High School in January to protest that school system's loss of music and art programs and curbs on student elective courses.

Pontiac, Mich., school district employees could all face layoffs as early as April.

The struggling city must react to shrinking enrollment - from 20,000 to about 7,000 - and loss of state funding along with a citywide financial emergency declared by Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm, a Democrat, amidst a $12 million deficit.

Read entire story here

Bleacher Report - Why High School Sports Need Parity

2009-03-02T21:05:00.002-05:00

By Matt Gilmartin

Lately, when I've read the part of my local newspaper's sports section that's devoted to coverage of high school sports, I've seen nothing but overly lopsided basketball scores. The score of a game played between two teams from Dallas, TX was 100-0. A local high school girls team has lost all of its games by 20 points or more. It seems like every time I see the result of a high school basketball game, it's extremely one-sided.

The only time a game is ever close is when two similarly-ranked teams in the paper's Sweet 16 play each other. The other high school sport in which blowouts are common is football. My school's football team was good, and they won a lot of games this past season by 20 or 30 points, sometimes even more.

Sure, it's fun when your school's team—the team you might currently be playing on or may have played on in when you still went to school—wins all the time. Blowing every opponent out for a while is even more fun. But eventually winning every game by a significant margin gets old. You need competition, some excitement. Otherwise each game you win easily makes you feel like you're only playing to go through the motions and get another win, another notch on your playoff seeding belt. You miss the rush that a close game used to give you, back when you still played close games. But it's like a nightmare you can't wake up from when your team is the one going all season without winning a game—maybe not even close.

I speak from experience when I say that losing every game by 30 points doesn't help a student's already-shaky self esteem caused by teasing peers and personal insecurities. It takes the fun out of a sport because you're not getting to do what made the sport fun in the first place—make shots, force a couple turnovers, throw a touchdown pass, execute that perfect pancake block, whatever.

Not to mention the damaged relationships that constant lopsided losses can cause. Teammates, who are often friends, sometimes turn on each other. That happened to me personally. An old friend of mine is a perfect example of both of these situations. He and I used to play basketball together. Basketball was one of the things that defined our relationship. We both tried out for the school team one year, and we both made it.

But early into the season it was clear that the team was terrible, a laughing stock and mockery of what good school basketball is supposed to be. Despite our best efforts, we still couldn't come close to winning any games. Nobody was having any fun. Basketball was just a chore we all dreading doing. It didn't take along for my friend's frustration to boil over. As we headed down to the locker room during halftime of an early-season game, I thought out loud, "Well, we're doing better than we were." I wasn't being sarcastic, and it was true. We were only down by 25, as opposed to 35 or 40. But my friend took the comment the wrong way and lashed out at me, shouting at me to shut up! His jeer stung badly. I hadn't meant any harm by what I said; I had actually tried to lighten the mood and loosen the guys up by looking at the positive side of things. But my friend brutally shot me down. That didn't end our friendship, but it definitely hurt it and separated us quite a bit. Nobody benefits from losing every game by a wide margin. Nobody benefits from winning every game by a wide margin.

This is why every state should have a mercy rule for every applicable high school sport. A mercy rule would create some parity in high school sports, or at least enough to end blowouts early. And that's what high school sports need.

Scarborough Research - Teens Show Strong Optimism

2009-03-02T20:25:00.006-05:00

According to a timely study from the Scarborough Kids Internet Panel, 75% of teens in the study said they are optimistic that the new administration will help solve current economic problems. African-American and Hispanic teens appear to be more optimistic than Asian and Caucasian teens, with 46% of African-American teens saying they are "very optimistic" about President Obama's ability to help the economy, along with 31% of Hispanic teens, 24% of Caucasian teens and 20% of Asian teens.

The vote of confidence is well-timed, as teens are feeling the impact of the crisis at home, says the report. 74% of teens surveyed said that they are worried about the economy, including 23% who are "very" worried and 51% who said that they are "somewhat worried." 20% are "not very worried" and 6% "aren't worried at all."

Eighty-six percent of teen respondents think their parents worry about economic conditions, and 70% have discussed the economy with their parents.

- 47% said that they would like to talk to their parents more about the issue
- 64% of teens stated that they were discussing the downturn with their teachers at school
- 81% percent of teens are also interested in understanding more about the causes of the current problems.

Many teens report that they have made adjustments in their household to accommodate changing financial situations and health related behaviors.

In order to save money:

- 15% of teens dropped out of a sport or recreational activity
- 13% missed doctors' appointments
- 11% stopped or cut back on taking vitamins
- 33% changed eating habits. (Most frequently eating out, particularly at quick service restaurants)
- 20% have cut back on eating organic food

Steve Seraita, Executive Vice President of Scarborough Research. "... Knowing the sentiments of kids, teens and their parents can help marketers tailor messages and new products to meet current needs... There is also a message... for government organizations and policy makers... to use some of the stimulus funding earmarked for youth education/health programs... "

From The WSJ - Niche Web Sites Buck Media Struggles

2009-03-02T16:59:00.002-05:00

By Jessica E. Vascellaro and Elizabeth Holmes

While many media businesses are stalling, a small group of online publishers appears to be bucking the trend.

Several start-up Web sites such as SB Nation, Seeking Alpha Ltd. and HealthCentral Network Inc., which create and aggregate content about topics like sports, business and health, are recording sharp gains in visitors and -- in many cases -- revenue. They are outpacing other sites on similar topics through business models that allow them to create niche content with little financial investment. Many also are landing distribution partnerships with big media brands eager for cheap content during the recession.

Yahoo Music's homepage on Sunday featured this story from Musictoob, a start-up that serves up juicy tidbits from the music scene.

The number of visitors to sports Web site SB Nation, for instance, rose 15% from December to a total of 3.4 million in January, according to the company, even as unique visitors to the category of sports sites tracked by comScore Inc. fell 2%. (ComScore says SB Nation -- which is owned by SportsBlogs Inc. -- doesn't reach its public reporting thresholds.) SB Nation launched a partnership with Yahoo Inc.'s Yahoo Sports last week and has signed another deal with Gannett Co.'s USA Today.

The site is trying to offer content that larger sports destinations don't often generate on their own, such as team-specific blogs like "Gang Green Nation," dedicated to the New York Jets. SB Nation recruits the authors and pays them based in part on the popularity of their posts. It is a business model that SB Nation believes can keep its site afloat with less advertising than is required by traditional media companies, Chief Executive Jim Bankoff says.

"This model only works if you have a cost structure to enable it to work," he says. Mr. Bankoff says revenue is rising 25% a month, off a small base. He declined to disclose underlying numbers.

The small publishers face some serious challenges, including intense competition for eyeballs and advertisers. Moreover, the Web is flooded with niche-content sites, relatively few of which are likely to become profitable businesses.

But this new model of targeted content that can be assembled cheaply could become popular as advertising growth slows and consumers spend more time across multiple sites. "Consumer engagement is shifting toward niche-content experiences," says Andrew Braccia, a partner at venture-capital firm Accel Partners who sits on the board of SB Nation. "Three to five years from now, people will no longer be drawing a distinction between traditional forms of publishing and what we know as blogs today."

Some advertisers are buying in. The New England Sports Network, a regional cable network that doesn't advertise on large online sports portals, began buying ads on SB Nation's Boston Celtics blog in January to reach New England sports fans. "We're looking for the best targeted experience that we can get," says Michael Hall, director of new media for the company. He declined to say how much the company is spending on the ads.

Big media companies are paying closer attention, too. In February, Yahoo Music struck a deal with Musictoob, a start-up gossip Web site that launched at the start of the year and serves up juicy tidbits from the music scene.

The site, which boasts the slogan "The majesty of rock. The tragedy of roll," only started paying its two editors on Friday. The deal, which gives Yahoo content in exchange for traffic, came together in a matter of weeks, according to both parties.

Michael Spiegelman, head of Yahoo Music, says Musictoob's content filled a void in Yahoo Music's coverage. "We didn't have anyone really covering music gossip," he says. On Friday, Yahoo Music featured on its homepage a Musictoob post about pop star Lily Allen dressing in a duck costume.

Media companies are also more willing to experiment with different types of online brands. Hearst Corp. announced a partnership last week with Helium, an online writing site that fosters freelance journalism. The partnership will let Helium writers contribute in an as-yet-to-be-determined role to Hearst newspapers. Lincoln Millstein, senior vice president for digital media for Hearst Newspapers, says the company is looking to bolster its local-content offerings. "Helium plays in a niche that I don't really see that's out there," Mr. Millstein says. "It's intriguing enough where we can experiment with it."

Hearst is syndicating its targeted offerings, too. The Daily Green, Hearst's two-year-old online environmental brand, is now on Yahoo Green. Erin Carlson, director of Yahoo Green, says Yahoo looks to the Hearst site to cover specific green areas where Yahoo is absent, such as an environmental post regarding autos. In the first week into the partnership, Hearst saw nearly 40,000 referrals to TheDailyGreen.com from Yahoo, according to Hearst internal figures.

Some companies are trying to take the cheap niche model to the extreme. Whiskey Media, founded by the entrepreneur who co-founded CNET Networks, Shelby Bonnie, has built several sites, including videogame fan site Giant Bomb, on a single technology platform built by four developers. Giant Bomb hired two interns to fill out a database of videogame titles; much of the rest of the content, including game guides and images, has been submitted by users. Visits to the property have quadrupled since July to more than 80,000 a day, according to internal company metrics.