mostly nonfiction and bakersfield news | July 3rd, 2009
Junior Varsity Sports Only Guaranteed One More School Year
Everywhere there’s a budget crisis within the school systems of Kern County. The latest regarded junior varsity (JV) sports programs that Kern High School District Board officials threatened to ax in order to save the county $400,000. But it looks like the JV sports programs are going to stay for at least a year.
The Kern High School District Board held a Thursday morning budgetary session and spared junior varsity sports for the 2009-2010 school year, according to ABC23. People were abuzz on Twitter, talk radio, newspapers and more after the idea of cutting JV sports programs came up in June.
According to KGET on their Web site, “Hundreds of employees and parents packed a school board meeting Thursday morning to appeal to the board not to cut JV sports.”
“We had some great ideas from parents on how to help the sports program,” Trustee Ken Mettler said to ABC23. “So out of that we crafted this move-those cuts in this arena to 2010-11 and that gives time to our parents and sports people to think of alternatives to those pending cuts, but they’re not going to take place right now.”
The board opted to cut $430,000 from the 2010-2011 budget, ABC23 reported. There was also some brainstorming on ideas in how to cover lost funding. Money-saving and money-making ideas ranged from fundraising, charging transportation fees, to sharing buses for neighboring schools, to cutting down some Frosh/Soph and JV sports schedules.
Centennial High Volleyball Coach Brooke Roberts talked to ABC23: “There are some nickel and dime solutions that might have to be done, but anything that can be done to earn the amount of money to run a JV program will benefit our kids and that’s the bottom line right there.”
ABC23 added that the Kern High School District is making an attempt to save $30 million over the next three school years due to California’s state budget crisis and tax revenue failures.
“We would like the opportunity to try and generate those funds through fundraisers and private donations,” Brooke Roberts, a teacher and volleyball coach, said to the board, as reported by KGET. “And I honestly think it may take a year to be able to accomplish that goal.”
Anc according to KGET, “The board listened.”
How long they will listen, remains to be seen.
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