School athletics programs prepare for cuts

Central Region schools avoid ‘pay-to-play’

The challenge of playing away from home is about to become more daunting for many high school sports teams in the Central Region.

Travel could be affected, significantly, at some institutions, as high school activities directors in the Richmond area attempt to cope with a hemorrhaging economy and looming cuts in education budgets.

Chesterfield County is grappling with a $32.5 million post-stimulus shortfall in its education budget for the next school year.

Conspicuous on the list of cost-control measures proposed by Superintendent Marcus J. Newsome for 2009-10 is a 50 percent reduction in travel allocations -- to about $120,000 -- for the county's 11 high school sports programs.

Cosby High School activities director Ted Salmon called travel "a very big concern. We're going to have to take a long, hard look at not only how we travel, but where.

"There's a balance we're all going to have to find. You want to give your student-athletes the best opportunities against the best competition, yes. But now we're going to have to do it in the most cost-efficient manner possible."

Mileage will become a key component in the scheduling process, and not merely in Chesterfield.

Dennis Minton, activities director at Hanover County's Patrick Henry High School, said: "Why travel 4 hours when you can go 30 minutes and find someone just as competitive?"

Other travel adjustments also are being considered by districts.

Two buses won't be requested if one will suffice. Scrimmages might be eliminated. Spring sports might be asked to play doubleheaders instead of home-and-home series.

Also, cheerleader and band travel to away games might be curtailed. Families might be asked to transport athletes from multiday weekend competition in sports such as wrestling and track.

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And some teams might choose to play fewer than the maximum number of permissible regular-season contests.

John Marshall High School activities director Kevin Adams said it is conceivable that his school's powerful boys basketball team could return to a 20-game regular-season schedule. The Justices played 22 regular-season games in 2008-09.

But already, some teams are choosing to play far fewer than the maximum number of games allowed. For example, George Wythe High School's boys and girls played 17-game regular-season basketball schedules this season, 16 against Dominion District rivals.

The most significant impact among Central Region schools is likely to be felt in Richmond. Unlike Henrico and Chesterfield counties, the Richmond school system subsidizes the athletic programs at its six high schools. Those schools have been told to expect a 20 percent cut in their athletic budgets, coaching stipends included, for 2009-10.

John Marshall, for example, was allotted $160,000 for athletic expenditures in 2008-09. The Justices' proposed allotment in 2009-10 is $128,000.

"It's going to hurt. Definitely. No question," Adams said. "But it is what it is. Times are tight, and like everybody else, we're going to have to make do with less. Our 'needs' list is going to get shorter. Our 'wants' list, basically, is going to disappear."

Barring further economic deterioration, most local activities directors think schools can ride out the storm without the loss of varsity or junior varsity teams.

Adams said he intends to distribute sacrifices evenly across his 15-sport program. Virginia High School League Executive Director Ken Tilley said Title IX, the federal legislation requiring gender equity in education, makes it imperative that cutbacks be absorbed by both boys and girls teams.

Are across-the-board reductions "going to sit well with everyone? Probably not," Adams said. "But guess what? Whether you like it or not, whether you agree with it or not, you'd better get used to the idea because you're going to have to deal with it."

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Unlike neighboring districts, Henrico expects to increase its school system expenditures in 2009-10, by $9.6 million. Even so, officials at Henrico schools seem committed to fiscal prudence.

"Our coaches know: You get new uniforms every four years," Mills Godwin High School activities director Louise Foley said. "If you want them sooner, go out and fundraise. Basically, that's my job -- to determine whether we truly need it or merely want it."

Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover are home to 23 high schools. Their athletic programs are nurtured less by school system budgets than by gate receipts, booster clubs and fundraising endeavors.

An active group of boosters can generate as much as $60,000 a year, one club president said. Those contributions usually are used for facilities improvements, field maintenance, uniforms and equipment.

County contributions tend to be modest and often are limited to travel allocations and coaching stipends (about $2,000 to $5,000 for head coaches in Henrico and Chesterfield, depending upon the sport and length of service).

Schools elsewhere are less fortunate. Petersburg has eliminated after-school transportation for athletes seeking rides home after practice. It also has eliminated some coaching stipends.

Tilley described the mood statewide as stark.

"In my 34 years of state association work, I don't believe I've ever seen the attitude so desperate," Tilley said. "People are being knocked for a loop. It's unprecedented."

Tilley said the Virginia High School League, a 312-school organization, is rethinking its philosophy of presenting its state championship events in major college arenas.

Those facilities, while steeped in prestige, carry steep price tags. For example, it cost $25,000 to rent Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium, the site of last season's state Group AAA football championship games.

"Maybe we need to lower our sights" by returning state championship competition to high school facilities, Tilley said.

"Maybe that would be more prudent," he said. "Let's face it, playing a state championship football game at Hermitage High School is going to be a whole lot cheaper."

Contact Vic Dorr Jr. at (804) 649-6442 or .