The Athletic Advisory Committee (AAC) recently presented its vision for the future of Birmingham Public Schools athletics to district coaches, parents and to the BPS board of education on Tuesday, May 18.
The board hopes to maintain the levels of participation and maintain the quality by not reducing the number of contests and the number of coaches, and will do that by diversifying revenue and using creative ways to manage their expenses, and creating a long term sustainable athletics program.
After originally presenting ideas and recommendations to the school board on May 4, the AAC has spent the last two weeks gathering information and the views of the parents and coaches.
For the next year, the school board next year has cut 78 percent in the general fund and a 16 percent cut is due to take aim at athletics.
The AAC consists of parent co-chairs Debra DeSantis, David Priestley, Steve Scheidt, both Birmingham High school principles Terry Piper and Fred Proctor, and Athletic directors Aaron Frank and Tom Flynn. Rounding out the committee is Deputy Superintendant Paul DeAngelis.
Their first forum was for high school athletics coaches where they addressed the issues with revenue, expense, and governance. More than 50 coaches attended the forum and the 44 that returned a survey giving the AAC insight on their projected ideas.
“We want to create a more sustainable athletic program,” Scheidt said, “by diversifying our revenue sources and [being] more creative with our expenses along with looking at a new governance model.”
65 percent of parents and coaches said that the reduction in athletics is at the correct level while 28 percent believed it should be smaller.
“Now with the cuts in the athletic department, more and more stress is being put on the booster clubs to make up the differences,” Track Coach Jeff Devantier said. “That’s also on top of the pay to play system we already have.”
The numbers that came back from the forum supported the ideas of the committee. Nearly all the coaches felt their compensation was at the correct rate while more than half of the parents agreed that the payment is at the proper place.
The parents had their own two day forum, which took place at both Seaholm and Groves, where more than 84 parents gave their input towards the proposed ideas.
The issue that got parents most involved was that there would be a eight percent increase for participation for the 2010-2011 calendar year for athletics, where over 50 percent of the parents believed that they would pay double or triple the amount to keep their kids involved in the activity.
The committee proposed new sources in all manner of community revenue, weblinks, advertising, and alumni gifts. Over 85 percent of parents felt that the idea would help put more revenue into athletics.
“We asked the public and they were very supportive of bringing nearly all gate receipts to the budget,” Scheidt said. “If the gate receipts are moved into the annual operation budget, it would cover current year expense as opposed to going entirely into the capital budget.”
At two out of the three forums the concept of working with building by building athletic director as opposed to an district wide director was brought up. Nearly 75 percent of parents applauded the idea of keeping two separate directors. After the forums, the decision was made that instead of having Frank alone as the district wide director, both high schools will be on a building to building basis.
In addition, two thirds of parents were willing to accept a certain level of reduction in transportation.
“I think that we really don’t need team by team transportation,” senior Max Koskela said. “Especially if it is a varsity team, most athletes have and would prefer to drive their own car, that’s easy money to save.”
The final and possibly most financially effective segment of the forums was the new proposals of governance.
A proposed athletic advisory board would be composed of school board members, administrative staff, and parents responsible for three year vision plans for athletics around both the operating and capital budget, something that the committee “supported overwhelmingly”.
85 percent of parents believe such a board should be created.
“The recommendations that the board made is widely supported by those parents and coaches surveyed,” Schiedt said. “In all three areas we are encouraged by what we saw.”
