K-8 looking for way to offer sports and activities

Now that courtesy busing is no longer an issue, administrators in the Howell K-8 School District are focusing their attention on how to provide fee-based sports and co-curricular activities by the time school opens in September.

It is their latest task in the battle of the budget, a battle that began in March when officials learned that Howell would lose nearly $5 million in state aid for the 2010- 11 school year.

The board eliminated courtesy busing, sports programs and co-curricular activities to help deal with the reduction in state aid.

Action taken by the Howell Township Council allowed courtesy busing to be reinstated by school district officials last week.

While administrators recommended that the district offer only middle school cross country in the fall and middle school track and field in the spring, Howell Board of Education members said at their July 21 meeting that they want to offer multiple middle school sports, if possible.

“I have a really hard time not being able to provide everything,” board President Mary Cerretani said.

Assistant Superintendent Karen Jones said she met with the district’s middle school principals recently to discuss the matter. Howell has three middle schools.

“One of our major concerns is that we have time constraints to get a full sports program in the fall,” Jones told the board.

The cost to enroll one student in a sports program would probably run around $200, and it would cost about $150 for participation in a school club, Jones said.

“It could be more, it could be less,” she told the board.

The district would still provide for the student council, the yearbook and several other organizations because they provide a service to the school community, Jones said.

But participation fees would be charged for chorus, drama club, the art club, science club and the literary arts journal, Jones said.

Howell Superintendent of Schools Enid Golden told board members to consider the administration’s recommendations as a “springboard” for discussion.

“We felt we needed to move a little faster,” Golden said. “We want something in place by the fall.”

“Because it’s July and September is coming,” Business Administrator Ronald Sanasac added. “We have to know what the worst case might be. We need to notify parents about sports programs.”

Jones said the district would also look into outside agencies like the Police Athletic League, which runs an intramural program already.

Board member Timothy O’Brien suggested the district reach out to the “tremendous” pool of parents and try to come up with volunteer coaches to staff the school sports programs.

But Jones and Golden said volunteers come with liability issues.

“We don’t have control over volunteers,” Golden said.

Coaches of middle school sports teams are generally teachers in the school. The coach is paid a seasonal stipend for his or her time spent as the coach of a team.

O’Brien suggested charging $100 for each student for sports and $50 for clubs to make it more affordable.

Board member Jeannette Smith said she researched what other districts will charge students to participate in sports and clubs. For example, Marlboro will charge $100 per student for a sports program and $30 per student for a club, she said.

However, Golden said the Marlboro K-8 School District is subsidizing a portion of the costs for sports and clubs, so the participation fees that school district is asking do not completely cover the costs.

“It’s a completely different animal,” she said.

Cerretani also noted that Howell no longer has a middle school athletic director to coordinate events at all three middle schools.