(3-5-10) - Below are links to stories that tell how local school systems are facing huge mountains of debt. Most of the
schools below might be considered urban schools, but the "ripple-down" effect will soon include all
types of public schools. Below you will see systems from 3 states - Illinois, Indiana and Ohio who know what
happens when there are large short falls in the budget. Even when the voters approve the added income it takes
a long time to recover.
How will you as an athletic department handle a financial crunch? More importantly how will
your conference make it work when a conference member drops athletics? When a conference member drops athletics, his
problems now become yours. How do you handle an open football date? Don't think it can't happen to your
system, I'm sure several of these school boards would have said the same thing before this all happened.
The stories below might be beneficial to you down the road, being prepared is a plus for any school
or conference.
We asked Jay Lauscher, Hononegah Athleic Director for a statement on Rockford Schools
Dave,
Everything is still up in the air as far as what will happen in district 205. If they drop freshman programs the other schools will adjust by scheduling other freshman competition whether that is scheduling an additional game with other NIC-10 schools or looking to add a non-conference school to the schedule. All of us are quite good at finding additional games each season depending upon the numbers that schools will have at certain levels. Our goal is always do what is right for the student athletes.
We will just ride it out until we get a definite direction that 205 will take for next year.
Dave Schmidt Talks with Aaron Wilson on Live@5 (2-9-11)...
Dave attended the meeting at Guilford HS on the proposed outsourcing of Rockford School athletics to the Rockford Park District. Aaron Wilson and Dave discuss the meeting and options of the plan on Live@5.
(Pleasant Local Schools - The school board had already voted to eliminate extra-curricular activities including sports and music programs if the levy failed.
A building-by-building head count taken Friday showed the district had 24,354 students, down from 25,745 at this time last year. Overall, the district's enrollment dipped 5.4 percent, with the greatest drop at the middle and high school levels.
Enrollment at the middle schools was down more than 11 percent, while high school enrollment dropped nearly 8 percent.
Mr. Pecko said he's sure the elimination of high school bus service and the extension of walking zones for other students to two miles played a role in some parents' decisions to move their children, as well as the cuts in athletics.
In June, the board eliminated all sports for middle school students, while low-participation sports such as golf, wrestling, and cross country were dropped in the high schools as part of a plan to close a $39 million deficit.
School consolidation is something that could effect your conference in the future. The economy
could force changes, not only in urban setting, but also in rural areas. How would your conference handle this
type of loss?
A few statements from Dave Cecutti, Commissioner of the Ohio Capital Conference concerning the Southwestern City Schools and the passed levy:
"I know I speak for all of our member schools when I say we are thrilled that the communities in the Southwestern District have shown their support and given the student-athletes the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities now and in the future and continue to be an important part of this Conference.
The Ohio Capital Conference will fully engage the original schedules for both the winter and spring sports immediately and we look forward to helping these schools in any way we can to get back into a normal situation.
Just as that District will need to come together in the next weeks and months so to will all of our schools and administrators. It has been a difficult stretch for our schools but the strength and vision of our Conference will help us as we move forward with new and exciting initiatives for all of our 32 schools."
In South-Western, unofficial results show the levy won by about 450 votes. If the results hold, it means the district will begin restoring extracurriculars and other services cut this fall.
Procedures In Place For Schools Accepting Transfers From South-Western City Schools
Aug. 5 - With the failure of the South-Western City Schools levy and the district's decision to eliminate its entire athletic program, eligibility will be granted to those South-Western City School District students who transfer to another member school per exception 11 to Bylaw 4-7-2 Transfer, PROVIDED
The receiving member school requests an eligibility ruling in writing from the OHSAA
The written request for an eligibility ruling contains the following information:
1. Student's Name
2. Student's Grade Level
3. Sending School
4. Sports in which the Students Participated for the 2008-09 School Year
Please note that students requesting to be eligible at their new school must meet the scholarship requirement and all other applicable bylaws.
Written requests from school officials must be on school letterhead and faxed to 614-267-1677. An OHSAA administrator will respond to each request as quickly as possible.
Please note that the students who transfer pursuant to exception 11 are not eligible until declared eligible by the Commissioner’s office. It should also be noted that any student transferring eligibility pursuant to this exception will not be able to take advantage of exception 6 (transfer into residential district) of this Bylaw at any time after the transfer becomes effective.
