PSD cuts middle school athletics budget

Teams of three major sports will consolidate into one

Marques Hunter

of the Gateway

Middle school sports just got more competitive.

The Peninsula School District Board of Directors passed the 2009-10 budget last week, and the 5-0 decision included a 50 percent cut from the middle school athletics program, from $250,000 to $125,000.

The PSD administration had to adjust its spending because of a $5 million shortfall.

That means fewer students will play sports, as Harbor Ridge, Kopachuck, Goodman and Key Peninsula middle schools will combine seventh- and eighth-grade teams in boys and girls basketball, soccer and volleyball. Only wrestling and track and field will be open to all middle school athletes.

The school district expects a drop of about 33 percent, from 1,292 slots last year in middle school sports to about 832.

PSD Superintendent Terry Bouck said these are challenging economic times.

“We understand when you make reductions, you don’t want to make them, but we have to in order to balance the budget,” Bouck said.

Another measure the district is using to fix its budget shortfall is pay-to-play, which is a flat fee each parent pays in order for their children to participate in sports. The fee increased from $15 to $25 for middle schools this year, and from $60 to $100 for high school athletics.

There were no increased cuts to C team, junior varsity or varsity teams at the high school level.

Denise DeWalt, physical education teacher at Lighthouse Christian School, has a daughter going into the seventh grade who will be trying out for the Goodman Middle School girls basketball team.

“The No. 1 priority should be to not stop extra-curricular activities,” DeWalt said. “I’d rather see them charge more and allow parents to give extra, if they can.”

PSD Assistant Superintendent Shannon Wiggs was involved in the decision-making process and said there’s a lot of unhappiness statewide.

“A lot of districts are having to make a lot of tough decisions,” Wiggs said. “I’m sure there will be some frustrated kids. Hopefully, they can get involved in school in other ways.”

Wiggs added that middle school soccer has the biggest turnout and will be hit the hardest. Each sport runs on a 32-day season with eight games against other PSD middle schools.

Steve Sutton of Gig Harbor, who has triplets going into seventh grade at Goodman, said it’s important that his kids have an opportunity to play sports.

“Holistically, as a sports community, it’s going to affect the high schools,” Sutton said. “There are going to be less positions for the kids to play and develop.”

While Sutton’s two daughters and son play in select leagues in various sports, he said they look forward to representing their school, and the camaraderie is important, too.

“We weren’t asked as parents to provide input on these types of things,” Sutton said. “Let us have the opportunity to decide if we want our kids to participate.”

Sutton told his children that they’re going to have to perform well in order to make the team.

“It doesn’t affect me as much as other parents,” Sutton said. “But there are a lot of kids out there who can’t play at an advanced level. They count on these sports.”

The last time the PSD had to make dramatic reductions in public school sports was in 1994-95 when the double levy failure occurred.

Athletic alternatives

With the Boys & Girls Club set to open this fall and independent leagues like Next Level Basketball rising to the surface, there are other avenues families can pursue to get their kids involved in sports.

Bouck said the PSD will partner with the Boys & Girls Club and the Gig Harbor Family YMCA to create athletic programs for sixth-graders who otherwise may not have the same opportunities to play sports.

“We’re trying to mitigate these reductions by partnering with those quality organizations,” Bouck said. “We’re working hard to see if we can arrange that.”

Reach sports reporter Marques Hunter at 253-853-9246 or by e-mail at marques.hunter@gateline.com.