South Bend schools plan to cut athletic director positions

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - The South Bend school district is eliminating athletic director jobs as part of a restructuring.

The South Bend Tribune reports a letter signed by Todd Cummings, the northern Indiana district's deputy schools superintendent, informed the four school athletic directors and the district's athletics chief that their positions were being eliminated at the end of the school year.

The newspaper says they will be reassigned to a teaching position at a reduced salary and each high school will have a new position called Dean of Students and Athletics. Cummings cited declining enrollment, funding cuts and "leadership's assessments" of the district's needs as factors in the decision.

Bill Groves, the athletic director at Adams High School, says he was "shocked" and he called it "a mystery."

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Information from: South Bend Tribune, http://www.southbendtribune.com