Faded uniforms. Worn-out baseball gloves. Scruffed basketballs.
For local high school athletes, those are on the trade-off lists as school officials anticipate another round of state budget cuts.
“We are going to hold on all purchases for next year,” said Richard Roy, the athletic director at Fayetteville-Manlius High School. “This will impact uniforms first because, with reduction, we must prioritize and keep the things we need for the sport to be played.”
Roy and others overseeing local high school sports are planning such drastic penny-pinching to cope with expected state budget cuts for the 2010-2011 school year. Gov. David Patterson has proposed a budget that would cut aid to school districts by 5 percent. If the state legislature approves the governor’s proposals, the Syracuse school district would see a 3.2 percent cut in funding. That would be nearly $8.4 million cut.
And that means less money for athletic departments. The latest scrimping is in addition to changes athletic departments made last year. Fewer games, less travel and a hold on equipment purchases are some of the changes already in place.
Last year at Fayetteville-Manlius, supply cuts saved $25,000 and fewer games saved $45,000, estimated athletic director Roy. At Fayetteville-Manlius, the school budget was $65 million. The athletics department got one percent of the total, amounting to $650,000, said Roy.
But every school’s budget is different, depending on size and programs available. The state budget is not yet final. The state legislature is expected to act on April 1st. In some school districts, like Liverpool, voters also must then approve the budget.
In the meantime, local school boards are crunching the numbers to devise a budget that would pass. If the board suspect voters won’t approve the budget, the schools face the prospect of more cuts.
“Then we are talking about dropping actual teams,” predicted athletic director Roy of Fayetteville-Manlius.
At other school districts throughout Onondaga County, athletic directors are putting together savings plans ranging from travel restrictions to combining teams.
At West Genesee High School, superintendent Christopher Brown has already put in place changes for next season. For example, the school’s teams won’t be traveling again to away games at Utica and Rome. Instead, Brown said, he hopes to get Utica and Rome to join the Tri-Valley League. That would put the two schools in different leagues and they would not face each other. Less travel would save transportation costs for busing the team to these locations.
At Cicero-North Syracuse High School, athletes will continue to travel, said athletic director Tom Tatham. In 2009, for example, the indoor track team and cross country team traveled to races in New York City. But teams will continue to travel outside of Section III, said Tatham, only under special circumstances.
“We will let teams travel if they pay their own way,” Tatham said. “If they go outside, the booster club must pay for it.”
While the changes frustrated athletes, said Tatham, parents understood the tradeoff. He added, “Your child may play less games, but it is a positive that taxes will be down.”
This season, Cicero-North Syracuse High School trimmed its schedules by cutting two basketball games, four baseball games, four softball games and two lacrosse games. Tatham does not foresee things improving. “It is early in the process now,” he said. “But things are going to get worse, not better.”
For Syracuse city schools, the budget process is different. But results are likely to be the same, predicted city school officials.
Chris Hodge, administrator for health, physical education and athletics for all city schools, will find out what budget gaps he faces in April when the State Legislature comes to a decision. But, unlike the other school officials, he doesn’t have to wait for a local election for voters to approve the school budget. City residents do not vote on the school budget.
Still, he’s already trimming spending. This season the number of contests were reduced, said Hodge. Some teams were combined and, Hodge said, next year will see even more consolidation.
“We already have combined swimming and wrestling,” Hodge said, “but I think we will have to combine track and tennis teams — maybe making an East Side and a West Side team.”
The city athletic directors, Hodge said, and his staff will look at participation trends, feedback from those involved and comparative interest in the sport before deciding what will be combined.
Even with the cuts, he stressed the positives of combining teams for the athletes.
Said Hodge: “Kids do get to learn from and meet other kids.”
(Rachel Stern is a graduate student in magazine, newspaper and online journalism.)
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