Hoop teams may bounce back at middle schools

MARLBORO — It appears that boys and girls interscholastic basketball teams made up of sixth- and seventh-graders will be reinstated at both of Marlboro's middle schools for the 2009-10 school year.

Members of the Marlboro Board of Education discussed the reinstatement of the interscholastic basketball teams as well as an expanded intramural program during a workshop meeting on July 14.

A vote to move forward with the sports program as planned was expected to be held during the board's July 21 meeting.

Earlier this year, sixth-grade interscholastic sports programs were eliminated at both middle schools, to be effective with the start of the 2009-10 school year. The sixth-grade teams that were cut were soccer, basketball, cheerleading, baseball, softball and tennis.

The board did not cut eighth-grade interscholastic sports (soccer, basketball, cheerleading, baseball, softball and tennis) and said pupils in all three grades would be able to try out for those teams.

Interscholastic cross country, track and field, and wrestling teams for sixth-, seventh and eighth-graders were never considered for elimination.

The cuts were made while the budget for the 2009-10 school year was being developed. Eliminating the interscholastic sixthgrade teams saved about $75,000. In its place was to be an intramural sports program for sixth-grade pupils, which, after input from parents, was expanded to be open to all grades.

Marlboro Superintendent of Schools David Abbott said each middle school — Marlboro Middle School and Marlboro MemorialMiddle School — expects to have up to 250 students participating in the intramural program.

During a standing-room-only meeting at which parents called for the reinstatement of the interscholastic sixth-grade teams, board members asked Abbott to see if that would be possible.

At the board's July 14 meeting, Abbott offered the reinstatement of sixth-grade interscholastic basketball at both middle schools for boys and girls.

Basketball was chosen as the sport for reinstatement due to the number of available teams to compete against, the superintendent explained.

Administrators said the reinstatement of the sixth-grade interscholastic basketball teams was made possible due to an extra $56,000 in extraordinary aid the district recently received.

Board members said that had the district not received the money, it was likely that no sixth-grade team would have been reinstated.

Abbott said the cost to reinstate the four interscholastic basketball teams (one boys team and one girls team at each middle school) was about $25,000.

The total cost to run the intramural and interscholastic sports programs will be $40,278 in 2009-10, the superintendent said.

Board member Michael Lilonsky asked if there was any other source where the district could get the money to reinstate all of the sixth-grade sports teams.

Administrators said there was not an available source of funding unless the board went into the budget and cut other programs.

Abbott said that if the board requested it, he could investigate the possibility of a payto play option for future school years. He noted that such an option was not feasible for the upcoming school year, since it would take time to investigate and possibly implement such a program.

Board members were concerned about spending the money for the sports program, because it would be a continual cost going forward. The consensus of the board was to look at the program and its costs each year during budget time.

When the meeting was opened to the public, resident Greg Colen pressed board members on what their vision was for the student-athletes and if eliminating some of the teams fit that vision.

Board Vice President Terry Spilken said if the funding was available he would like to see the interscholastic program running for all three grades as well as the expanded intramural program to serve additional children.

Board members agreed that visions change from year to year depending on circumstances, including finances.

Parent Richard Miller said there was a lack of transparency with the board and the matter of the funding for sports. He said that had he heard the matter discussed previously, he would have challenged the board with other alternatives, such as the pay-toplay option.

Miller said he felt the intramural sports would essentially be an after-school daycare program for the children. Noting that he understood the financial burdens facing the district, Miller said he believed that had taxes gone up $4 or $5 in order to keep the sports program intact, no one would really have complained.

Board member BonnieSue Rosenwald did not share Miller's opinion about a lack of transparency. Rosenwald said the board put a lot of time and effort into the discussions to cut the sports program when it initially came up for budget review in January. Rosenwald told those present that she was in the audience at the time, having been elected to the board after the discussions took place.

Rosenwald said that at the time of the budget development, no one came out to protest the cuts.

"There was a packed audience both times I was here when this was discussed, and not one person got up, at that time, and even asked that [interscholastic sports] be reconsidered," Rosenwald said, adding that there was transparency on the issue.

"The fact that people didn't come to these meetings and speak — the board has no idea what is going on in the heads of people if they are not here to speak to them," she added.

Rosenwald noted that the time to discuss the sports program was months ago, before the budget's approval, since now with the budget's passage there are constraints to work within.

The parents who were present said they will be in attendance when the board begins working on the budget for the 2010-11 school year.

Parents have expressed fears that once a program is removed, it will never be put back. Board President Cynthia Green said it is possible if funding is in place to put cut programs back, as has happened before.