Next year’s budget unlikely to offer relief
Few would question the tenacity and dedication of Bethlehem Central’s student athletes, but if there’s one thing the 2009-10 sports seasons have shown, it’s that their parents and fellow community members can be just as hard working.
Despite deep budget cuts this year that impacted everything from after school clubs to bus routes, athletic teams that practice and compete off district property that had their funding for facility rental removed will be finishing full seasons thanks to community efforts that closed the gaps.
BC Superintendent Michael Tebbano said the district worked closely with parents and booster clubs last year to make sure they would be able to do fundraising before making the cuts.
It was one of the plans the [school] board had last year in dealing with the difficult budget we had, he said, adding that the reductions were necessary to avoid cutting teams outright.
Similar support has developed for co curricular clubs and musical activities.
The BC Ice Hockey Team had its $21,000 facility rental funding removed from the 2009-20 budget, but will be playing its final regular season game Saturday, Feb. 13, before moving on to playoffs as it completes one of its most successful seasons in years under the leadership of first-year head coach Andre Rodrigue, who attributed the program’s survival to the hockey booster club.
`The boosters have done a lot,` he said. `It hasn’t been easy, but it’s given the kids and the boosters a sense of ownership of the team this year.`
BC Hockey Booster Club member David Taillon said fundraising has been the club’s focus all year.
`It’s like eating an elephant, we didn’t do one thing that just raised the money,` he said.
The booster club has organized a golf tournament, car washes and a raffle that will be drawn at the Senior Night game on Saturday, where the 23-member team’s eight seniors will be honored. One can also support the team by shopping on Amazon.com. Going to the site through the team’s Web site at varsity.bethlehemhockey.org means that the team gets a cut of the purchase price.
This season isn’t the first time the hockey team has dealt with a budget shortfall. The entire program was struck from the 2007-08 school year budget for a $35,000 savings. The booster club raised enough to keep the players on the ice, but it’s a reminder that things could still get worse.
`We expect hockey to be another target,` Taillon said. `We’re already thinking ahead to next year to try to anticipate the need to raise even more funding than we did this year.`
The district is still paying for coaching, transportation and officials for all sports. Many other athletics expenses, such as money for new uniforms and night games, were deferred or removed.
The hockey team practices and plays at the Bethlehem YMCA. As a nonprofit entity, the YMCA wouldn’t be able to eliminate the ice fees for the team, said Bethlehem YMCA Programming Director Curtis Hovey, but after looking into the legalities decided to allow the boosters to fundraise at games through 50/50 raffles and other means.
`We couldn’t reduce the ice fees because we’re in the same boat as they are,` Hovey said. `We were able to allow them to do that inside.`
Hovey declined to discuss details of the ice fee structure.
As in previous years, the boosters also collect the ticket take ($3 general, $2 for students) and run a concession stand at the games. The hockey team plays 12 regular season home games and practices five times a week at the YMCA.
Various area groups and businesses have made it a point to lend a helping hand to the team. On Monday, Feb. 1, Gregory’s Barbershop in Delmar raised $715 through a four-hour fundraiser during which proceeds and donations from 40 haircuts were pooled.
It’s the community’s willingness to give that makes such events worthwhile, said owner Gregory Zorian.
`We had a really good turnout,` he said. `They really came out and supported it, it was nice to see.`
Teams with smaller facility budgets`the golf and bowling teams`also funded their seasons though community support and parental efforts. The golf team saw its $1,690 greens fees budget eliminated, while the bowling team’s $3,500 facility rental budget was cut.
Marv Sontz is not only the coach of the BC bowling team, but co-owner of the team’s practice and competition facility: Del Lanes in Delmar.
Boosters, parents and players have been working to raise money through car washes, raffles and selling discounted Del Lanes gift cards, but Sontz said he’ll probably only realize half of the rental price that used to be paid by the district.
`It won’t make the nut, no, there’s no way,` he said. `There’s only so much kids can do.`
The bowling team was 10-5 for the season as of press time.
35 boys and girls participate in BC bowling teams. Sontz said bowling is a sport that’s rapidly growing in popularity among young players, and there are even scholarships emerging for top players.
`Bowling’s a sport that kids can do who might not be able to play football or basketball,` Sontz said.
Sontz said he would provide Del Lanes for the team’s use even if no money could be raised to cover the expense.
`I would never, never drop the bowling team,` he said. `We do what we have to do to keep these kids in the sports.`
Other booster clubs are raising money to better their programs. The BC Swimming and Diving Booster Club recently raised $17,000 to purchase an electronic timing system and scoreboard for the high school pool.
BC is entering another problematic budget process, and is faced with closing a $2.5 million gap brought about by rising costs and reduced state aid.
Tebbano said like last year, the district will strive to make cuts across the board so no one program bears the brunt of the hard times, and estimated athletics funding could be reduced by $75,000 or more.
He spoke of the district’s emphasis on provided a full-fledged extracurricular experience for students, but said schools everywhere are in an unenviable position.
`Unfortunately, the rules of the game have changed due to this budget crisis of the last couple years,` he said.
The Board of Education will be examining different areas of the budget in coming weeks as they prepare a 2010-11 budget. The board is scheduled to examine athletics and other topics at a budget workshop on March 17.
“