To say that Santa Fe Public Schools has been mismanaged is like saying the Titanic should have seen that iceberg coming. It's apparent to everyone.
There are no easy answers for SFPS when facing a huge budget crunch. But if there is a way to preserve a component of middle school athletics - and activities, for that matter - please do it. While coaches and administrators are wringing their hands over the prospect of seeing middle school programs altered (perhaps forever?), let's hope they do not lose sight that athletics are not gone.
Just in a different format. Plenty of question exists about how a middle school intramural system (How would it be structured? Where would coaches and officials come from, especially if it's done on a volunteer basis? How would the kids - and it's always about the kids, right? - get to those events? How would the cost of maintaining fields and courts and having them available be paid?) But the most important part is that it's still there.
The alternative can be viewed just 55 miles to the south in Albuquerque, where middle school sports' demise came in 1981. Since then, only middle school basketball has been funded by Albuquerque Public Schools, but district athletic director Ken Barreras has seen its effect.
There is no school spirit or a connection between the feeder middle schools and their high school parents.
Students struggle to maintain interest in school, especially those who lack the ability to pay to play in the Young American Football League, or AAU basketball, or club soccer, volleyball, softball and baseball.
Truancy rates have risen.
The athletes who do participate often lack fundamental skills and spend the first couple of years trying to catch up.
That could be the future of Santa Fe Public Schools if it's not careful.
If it's going to do intramurals, it has to be done right.
Or else ...
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It funny how I haven't heard a thing about cuts in administrators salaries.
ReplyDeleteCut them 10% and you can save the athletics programs.
It makes too much sense, I guess.
I went to Alameda when it first opened and the middle school sports were a big part of my middle school years. Common sense would be to anything possible to save these sports. What a shame if they are cut.
ReplyDeleteWow i agree with the first comment why dont the Administrator take a pay cut of 10% or more to save the programs that are just as important as the classroom. Sports and Athletics go hand and hand. If they dont then Santa fe will see the Crime rate jump like unemployment.
ReplyDeleteYou should ask Las Cruces about dropping junior high sports. When their gang problems got to big they found a way to restart junior high athletics. Just be sure you never fire a coach at any level for not winning, and forget the playoffs.
ReplyDeleteBe sure you do away with music, band, drama, anything that costs money and get kids involved in an activity. By the way did you realize that athletics takes up less than 10% of the overall budget? Why can't people see that if they connect athletics and academics they will have a school kids want to go to.
Retired Coach
The previous point made is a good one. There is a strong correlation between gang problems and middle school sports funding. The same way Las Cruces saw a decrease in their gang problems, Albuquerque saw an increase in the early 80's when they cut their MS sports programs.
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