School Board Makes Cuts Minus Athletics
Superintendent Sammy Higdon makes a point about his budget cuts during Monday night’s meeting.
“Integrity is the commitment to do the right thing regardless of the circumstances,” Superintendent Sammy Higdon told School Board members Monday night.
By Jack Gurner
Reporter
WATER VALLEY – District School Board members voted 3-2 Monday night to accept budget cuts for the 2011 school year recommended by Superintendent Sammy Higdon except for five items involving athletics.
After about 25 minutes of discussion, Board member Taylor Trusty made the motion, “that we accept the cuts except for seventh and eighth grade baseball, volleyball, seventh and eighth grade track, high school track, and cheerleading coach.”
Voting for were Trusty, Dr. Steve Edwards, and Casey Washington. Board President Lamar Burgess and Pierce Epps voted against.
The cost of the athletic items removed from the proposed cuts is $26,329.
Before the vote, Higdon told the board that he put together his recommendations several months ago based on a ten percent reduction, “because I know you’ve got to survive the funding cliff.”
The “funding cliff” to which Higdon refers is the end of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds that will affect the 2012 school year.
“I don’t believe these cuts are going to be enough for y’all after next year,” Higdon warned. “I would love to see them cut only 10 percent so that would give you another $400,000 to help absorb the next year.”
Higdon said that the choices aren’t good. “Teaching assistants affect 740 kids over there (at the elementary school). These athletic program affect the kids who would be participating in them.”
“We have about 80 kids taking the business courses that kids in the future won’t be able to take. The band director is going to have to do a whole lot more because we just took a person from him,” Higdon said of the positions he recommended cutting.
“Integrity is the commitment to do the right thing regardless of the circumstances,” he added. “And, I want to do the right thing. And, I know what the circumstances are because we’ve got 11 folks here on this recommendation that will lose their jobs and we turned their lives upside down.”
“These cuts aren’t going to be enough. It just doesn’t add up.”
Higdon explained that the School Board has the authority to remove any of the items from his recommendations. “All it needs is a motion, second, and a majority vote. And then we can move on to the rest.”
Burgess said that if a motion was to be made, it should be to take the cuts as is or to remove one or more of the items. “ I would still want to caution us that everything I am hearing from everywhere does not look good. And, whether it is $27,000 or $270,000 it is all going to have an impact for 11 and FY 12. But, that is left up to the board to make that motion. We’ll vote on it and then we can take a vote on the remaining items.”
Washington asked if the cuts were not up for discussion.
“In all fairness to you, Mr. Higdon, you did give it to us several weeks. And, we did have adequate time and shame on us. And I take personal responsibility…”
Burgess interrupted Washing-ton and said, “I take full blame for not bringing it to our attention earlier.”
Washington continued his comments saying that he felt bad for anyone being cut especially the assistant band director, “and these junior high athletics.”
“Now it is probably going to be read in the paper that Casey is about sports. But, that’s not really what its about.”
“Kids are at a volatile age at seventh, eighth grade. And there’s not a lot of activity for them out there outside the school.”
Washington speculated that some youngsters involved in the sports programs might earn scholarships. “We have a girl that’s state champion this year in track. Is that going to pay her way to college? I don’t know. But, if that opportunity never existed, it certainly wouldn’t.”
Higdon entered the discussion again and gave as an example the six teaching assistants who are being cut. “They tutor these kids. And, without them, the same thing you just told me holds true for some of those kids.”
“Everything that we’ve done will be affecting a student.”
“Is the 7th and 8th grade volleyball more important that the assistant band director? No. Is any position more effective than one teaching assistant? No. Because they all affect students and they are of value or we wouldn’t have them in the first place.”
“We could not do anything,” Higdon said about making the cuts. “The only problem with that is the state of Mississippi would declare a state of emergency, y’all would be fired, and the poor new superintendent who’s been here six months…he’s gone. And, I say that with a smile, but it is very serious because you may well deal with some much more difficult choices this time next year.”
“But, I do know this. Save every dollar you can.”
“What I am telling you now is what superintendents and boards are dealing with all over this state.”
“You take these athletic programs. Are they of value? These coaches work their tails off. They got these extra ten days because I recommended to the board.”
“Volleyball,” Higdon continued. “We never had volleyball until I implemented it. Athletic assistant, didn’t have one. Cheerleading coach, we did not have that. Seventh and eighth grade baseball, we didn’t have that until I implemented it.”
“So, no one can say Mr. Higdon doesn’t care about sports. There was a time when we didn’t have seventh and eighth grade track because we cut it. But, we got it back. You can get any one of these back, just get through these hard times.”
“You can get these teaching assistants back. The elementary school teachers are really going to have to make up the slack.”
“Everything you said is true,” Higdon said to Washington. “I agree with you 100 percent. But, my commitment is to this district. And it sometimes requires difficult choices.”
“I’m retiring this year. The easiest thing for me to do is not to have this discussion. I could actually do that. But, those of you who have know me for many years know I am not made that way. Plus, I have grandkids in this school.”
Washington returned to the athletic program cuts, “To me it gives some kids the willingness to come to school. That kid who doesn’t have the desire to listen to English or math.”
“There are a lot of kids who will graduate because of athletics,” Higdon agreed.
Washington continued, “I just fear that the very group were talking about that have an absolute passion for one of these athletic functions and that coach is giving them direction. If it saves one…”
Higdon countered, “But, I guarantee that those seven teaching assistants are going to save more than one. And, that assistant band director could make a difference in one or another.”
After Burgess asked if there were any more comments, Edwards entered the discussion.
“These (athletic) programs take a lot of time. Like you said, Mr. Higdon, you took a lot of time and effort to start these programs. My fear is that when you hand the baton to someone else, these programs will be at a loss. And, they may get implemented or they may not.”
“If we can’t afford them, that’s one thing,” Edwards said. “The community stepped up last year and paid for these programs. In good faith, I feel like if we can – and every dollar does count – we’re talking about five percent of these budget cuts. So, we’re not talking about a lot of money. I under stand the message you want to send. I understand that and I respect it. I personally have a hard time with leaving those kids out, though.”
“A lot of things we do indirectly affect our kids. But, this, I know, will directly affect them. And, I have a problem with that. We get a good return for our dollar. Some of these sports are actually paying for themselves. If we’ve got something that is paying for itself, that thing ought to be able to stay alive. I just do not want to cut some of these athletics because of that.”
Higdon responded, “One thing we have always been able to do is to agree to disagree.
“As I told Steve one time, I can’t help it that y’all are wrong,” he added, getting a laugh from the board.
“And, life moves on,” both Higdon and Burgess said.
Trusty entered the conversation: “Mr. Higdon, I was onboard with all of these cuts up until about a week ago. And, I don’t take this decision lightly, either. I found out something about financing and funding these positions that basically has got our hands time on these things.”
My thinking all along – and I am going to use Coach Robbins as an example – If the program meant that much to him why could he just not work over his supplement and do that. Well, I found out a week ago that we can’t do that, by law we can’t. Because if we take any money away from them, we’ve got to take responsibility as well.”
“With the dollars being so small and affecting the number of students it is affecting, I want to see these programs saved.”
“A couple of things happened in the last week or so and that’s one of them,” Trusty said. And the other is something that Casey alluded to. I had a young man tell me, ‘I’ve got to go home and study for a test tonight because if I don’t do good on this test, I am not going to be able to pay baseball.’ That was his motivation.”
“I think I see where all this is going,” Burgess said and asked for a motion.
After the vote, the board moved immediately to other items on the agenda.
