Sports likely to take budget hit in District 204
Extracurricular sports programs at Indian Prairie Unit District 204 schools likely will take a hit as the district looks to plug an $8.6 million deficit in its budget.
Earlier this month, the district announced the possibility of laying off as many as 114 teachers, administrators and support staff, along with other measures like raising student athletic and technology fees to keep the district’s budget balanced.
Monday night, district officials presented the 204 school board with other suggestions, including reducing the athletic budget by $100,000 and dropping library media center assistants’ hours from full to part time.
“It pains me that we’re even having to have some of the discussions that we’ve been having,” Superintendent Kathy Birkett said. District 204 is facing costs associated with sweeping changes happening in education in Illinois and nationwide.
As it implements a new required curriculum called Common Core and prepares to evaluate educators on student achievement, the district must invest in technology and staff education, Birkett said. Those costs require cutting other areas such as athletics.
The district’s athletic directors were asked to reduce $100,000 from their budgets. Suggestions centered on making sure opportunities were equal in schools across the district and on minimizing the impact to students, particularly if there were minimal outside opportunities for students to play a sport. Middle school soccer, not available in neighboring Naperville Unit District 203 and offered through many different programs in the community, was the only sport recommended to be cut completely.
Other sports could see reduced staffing and shortened schedules.
Possibilities include dropping one coach each in football, boys and girls basketball, boys swimming, baseball, softball and wrestling. Also, Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley high schools would lose one coach in boys soccer, girls volleyball and cheerleading, making staff levels at those schools equal with Metea. Neuqua also would lose one level of cheerleading, so that all high schools would offer two levels. The proposal also calls for freshman B-level baseball teams at all schools to be cut. In another equalizing move, freshman B teams at Neuqua and Waubonsie in boys soccer and softball would be dropped. Metea did not field B teams in those sports.
Several junior varsity and sophomore teams also could see shortened schedules next year: football shortened by two to three games at each level, girls and boys basketball four to five games each, and wrestling reduced at the junior varsity-2 level.
“All of those things were done to save opportunities and to level the playing field between buildings and between the two different groups of teams, the boys and the girls,” Assistant Superintendent Linda Rakestraw said.
An initial proposal called for entire levels of some sports to be eliminated. Reducing some schedules allowed them to remain in place, she said.
Waubonsie parent Michelle Johnson asked the board to keep junior varsity football.
“We have a saying that we call ‘Nine months for nine games,’” she said, explaining many students practice nine months out of the year to play in nine games. Outside of high school football, those kids don’t have an opportunity to compete, Johnson said.
“It’s not an ideal season,” Rakestraw said of the proposed cuts. “I’m the mom of football players and I know those nine games; every one of them is sacred to them. But I think it is better to have those seven games than to deplete the program.”
District officials also clarified proposed fee increases for student athletes, saying costs for students would be capped at two sports. Middle school athletes could pay $125 per sport, up from $100, with high school fees increasing from $160 to $200. Technology fees in the district would increase from $40 to $50.
Meanwhile, district officials recommended LMC assistants shift from full to part time at each school. “It is with regret that we make the recommendation,” Assistant Superintendent Martha Baumann said. The positions were targeted because they don’t directly teach students. To make up their work, the district will seek more parent volunteers.
Other specific staffing cuts will be discussed at future board meetings, but Birkett said she doesn’t anticipate programming will be cut. However, some class sizes will increase.
The district plans to keep class sizes the same in grades kindergarten through second with minimal impacts in grades 3 through 12.
The plan currently under consideration calls for about 55 full-time teachers to be laid off. They likely will be rehired as other teachers retire, Birkett said. There are 2,700 teachers in the district.