Fuel costs force changes in football
Posted on Wednesday, July 9, 2008
With gasoline prices and travel costs at an all-time high, it's no surprise school districts across the nation would begin to look at ways of cutting expenses to stay within their budgets.
Inevitably, athletics have now become part of the conversation.
Pea Ridge Schools superintendent Mike Van Dyke said Thursday that he and other superintendents of schools in the 1-4 A Conference began initial discussions last week about ways to cut expenses in the athletics budget related to travel.
Though nothing is set in stone yet, Van Dyke said the consensus among his peers is that something has to be done.
"I think you'll see a lot of districts doing this," Van Dyke said. "I don't know what some of the bigger districts are doing, but I know they'll be thinking about trimming back some. We have nothing right now as far as a written proposal. I think everybody's going to look at cutting costs. It's a sign of the times. This is a business."
Included in the discussions are the following athletic venues: seventh grade, junior varsity, cheerleading and band.
Van Dyke said it could be possible that cheerleaders and bands may not travel to away games in an effort to not send a couple of extra buses. Seventhgrade athletics may be played in a jamboree format. Juniorvarsity games, particularly football, may be eliminated all together.
Pea Ridge is moving into the 1-4 A Conference this fall after spending the last few years in the 1-3 A Conference. Other 1-4 A Conference members are Shiloh Christian, Gravette, Gentry, Huntsville, Prairie Grove, Farmington and Berryville.
"We're going to try to find what areas we think we can cut some things and see what the cost savings are," Van Dyke said. "(All the districts are ) trying to get our heads together so we can go in and do the same thing. It's not Pea Ridge going out on a front saying we're cutting this, cutting that, and no one else is doing it. We want our kids to be competitive and have a good experience but we also have to balance a budget. It's just tough times."
Van Dyke said the athletic directors of the conferences have been told to meet among themselves and come up with universal cost-cutting proposals to submit to the superintendents. The superintendents will then come to a decision about what measures to take.
"We want to come together and have a united front on this thing," Van Dyke said. "We're all looking at the same things with our patrons because it won't be popular with some of our folks. We try to be good stewards with our money and try to stay within budget with these costs going up."
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