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Pope County Tribune - Starbuck Times
Written by Zach Anderson - Starbuck Times New Editor   
Friday, 06 August 2010 11:02

No changes for 2010-2011 activities


During a work session Thursday night, the Minnewaska School Board brainstormed about the problems, possible solutions and criteria for cutting some activities for the 2011-2012 school year.

According to Minnewaska's Activities Director Bill Mills, approximately $30,000 must be found for the district to continue to offer 20 activities - everything from speech to baseball - in the 2011-2012 school year. Without an additional $30,000, cuts must be made to the activities budget.

The board hosted a public informational meeting last month where dozens of people spoke out to against the potential cuts.

As a follow-up to that meeting, the board held Thursday's work session to review its options.

School board chairperson Heidi Roggenkamp told her fellow board members, "I think we need to cover all of our bases because if anything came across loud and clear from that meeting, that was it - the students, the parents, the community wants us to explore every possible option before we make any cuts."

No decisions were made by the board Thursday night.

Last week's meeting was, however, an opportunity for board members to air their personal opinions.

There were a few tense moments Thursday night as board members clashed over whether or not the district should continue to offer all 20 activities:

• Jim Peters: "It's a fallacy if you think by eliminating a program, kids will go over to another sport. You're not going to get kids to go from one program to another. You can hear the carpools starting up already - they'll go to Alexandria."

• Bruce Anderson: "I agree with that, and maybe that won't happen the first two or three years, but as kids come up through the grades, and if they're athletic minded, they will direct themselves to what's available."

• Roggenkamp: "Everybody knows that if two or three kids leave the district, we didn't save a thing."

• Lonnie Hoffman: "If people pack and up and leave, we wish them well and welcome them back anytime. The bottom line is we have to look five years down the road, take our lumps now and do what's best for the future. There are people that want to see us reduce programs."

The one thing that board members did agree on Thursday night is that something needs to be done.

What's next?

There was consensus amongst the board members that another public meeting should be held before they take action. A date for that meeting will reportedly be set during the board's August 17 regular board meeting.

No changes to 2010-2011 school activities

In the meantime, it was reported that no changes will be made to the 2010-2011 school year activities, unless there's a need to reduce the number of coaches which will be determined by the number of students participating in a sport. Mills said that action will be determined season by season, sport by sport.

Mills also reported to the board that the following action helped cover the $25,424 needed to maintain activities offerings for the upcoming school year:

• Revenue: $6,000 donation from Jaycees, $2,500 in concessions and $4,624 in tournament entry fees taken in during 2009-2010 school year.

• Change in funding: $6,200 in speech team costs will be covered through the Gifted and Talented program.

• Reductions: $1,600 general activity travel, $2,500 general activity transportation, and $2,000 in general activity supplies.

Mills said this move is a "Band-Aid" for the upcoming school year and it's likely the dollars will not be available for next school year.

Options discussed for

2011-2012 school year

Again, the board did not make any decision or take any action Thursday, but they did discuss several options to streamline the district's activities offerings for 2011-2012, including:

• Cutting ninth grade sports. By cutting the five ninth grade activities - volleyball, boys' basketball, girls' basketball, baseball and football - the district would save about $20,000 during the 2011-2012 school year. Montevideo, one of the larger school districts in the conference, has cut ninth grade sports for the 2010-2011 school year. Roggenkamp said she sees that cutting ninth grade sports may become a trend across the conference and it's worth looking into.

• Transportation liability. Transportation costs for activities is the second highest expense for the activities budget, second to coach salaries, Mills said. School board members have discussed options for cutting that cost and the public has inquired about parents driving students, rather than taking a bus. According to the Minnesota School Board Association, school districts are not required to provide transportation for activities, but school districts are open to liability if they knowingly have parents driving students to and from activities (other than their own children). In addition, Superintendent Greg Ohl reported that the district's insurance company would likely the drop school district for that. However, Peters questioned that advice and asked for a legal opinion on whether or not parents signing a waiver, reduces the school district's liability.

• Pairing. Currently, Minnewaska is pairing - working together to offer activities with low numbers of participants - with Benson and Morris for girls' hockey and Morris for girls' swimming. Roggenkamp said she'd like to see the district continue to pair with other schools before cutting a sport. "There may not be a lot of cost savings in pairing, but it may keep kids in the district," she said. Peters said if pairing is the direction that the district takes, it should have a policy in place and be consistent with pairing with all sports.

• Cut last added activities. Hoffman said he supports cutting programs by chopping the activities that were most recently added - some of those include: girls' hockey, added in 2006-2007 (it should be noted that this sport will likely end after the two girls who will likely play this school year graduate); boys' swimming, added in 1997-1998 (which was eliminated in 2007-2008); and boys' cross country and boys' and girls' soccer in 1996-1997.

• Participation. Currently, about 40 percent of the student population participates in activities. Mills said that's about average across the conference. The board briefly discussed how they could encourage more kids to participate. Board member Karen Holte asked, "Have we surveyed the kids to determine why they're not participating?"

Reaction to Thursday's meeting

In an e-mail to the Tribune, Ohl noted, "The board is continuing the process of examining the activities in our district. This is an emotional issue and people have strong feelings about these activities. After listening to public input, the board has started a discussion on how to offer quality activities and stay within financial limitations. The community can expect a public discourse, including additional public meetings where they can provide feedback."

Board chairperson Roggenkamp said, "xxx."

School board member Julie Gaffaney did not attend last Thursday's meeting.

The next school board meeting is set for Tuesday, Aug. 17, at 7 p.m. in the district board room.