Board adopts policy on sports/activities programs

Faced with a looming budget crunch that may mean cuts for co-curricular programs, the Sisters School Board decided April 8 how sports and activities are to be deleted from -- or added to -- the school district's curriculum.

At its Monday night meeting, the board adopted a co-curricular policy developed by a committee headed by school Activities Director Lora Nordquist and Athletics Director Chuck Dekay and modified in two board workshops.

The policy calls for coaches and advisors, led by activities and athletic directors, to annually review the co-curricular budget and make recommendations for cutting programs.

Board members, other members of the school staff and the public may also propose specific plans for cutting or adding programs.

All proposals must address eight criteria including available funds, cost of the program and the need for the program (including student interest). The athletic and activities directors will make recommendations and pass the submitted proposals up the chain of command from principal to superintendent and on to the school board.

The school board is to provide a public meeting where proposals and recommendations can be discussed. The school board makes the final determination on what programs are cut or added.

Those who seek to add a program are required to submit a request and justification to athletic and activities directors and the principal based on similar criteria as those reviewed for cutting a program. The request follows the same chain up to a decision by the school board.

There was some urgency to the creation of the policy because the board and the athletics and activities directors wanted to have a policy in place before the school district's budget committee begins meeting at the end of April.

Cuts in programs are anticipated either this fiscal year or next and, in an April 4 workshop, athletic director Chuck Dekay told the board that those responsible for making program recommendations needed a clear direction on how to proceed.

The policy adopted April 8 makes athletics and activities directors responsible for recommending which programs should be cut and whether or not a program should be added. In the April 4 workshop, Lora Nordquist told the board it was critical that the professional educators who deal directly with the programs have that authority.

But anyone with an interest in the co-curricular program can propose cuts or additions according to the established criteria. The athletics and activities directors will review such proposals and make recommendations, but the proposal will be passed along to the board.

The board agreed that an interested person could advocate for their proposal at any stage of the process.

The policy may go into action soon. The district's budget committee is set to meet April 29 and their work will determine how much cutting has to be done. Armed with the new policy, the district will then have to decide what programs must be sacrificed.