TimesLeader.com

July 1

AH passes funding for junior high sports

By Don McGlynn dmcglynn@theabingtonjournal.com
Reporter/Photographer

CLARKS SUMMIT - A rumor that the Abington Heights School Board was planning on cutting all junior high school athletics resulted in a packed house during the board’s monthly meeting on Wednesday, June 24.

At the meeting, South Abington Township resident Tom McHugh addressed the board about a rumor he had heard that the board was cutting funding for junior high sports. The board immediately explained that all junior high sports will be funded in this year’s budget. The board said it is beginning a process that will have members reviewing the middle school sports program and changes may be made in the future, but at the moment there is no intention of cutting the program.

“We’re not cutting things tonight. We’re not talking about cutting money from sports either. We’re talking about how we want to look at what we’re spending on sports and whether we’re spending it all in places that are benefiting the maximum number of kids. And that’s really what we’re trying to do here. We’re not trying to cut programs and walk away and leave people in the lurch. This is the beginning of a process that is going to take time, that isn’t budget driven at all,” said board Vice President Jody DeRitter.

“There have been discussions about how best do we serve our kids, how best do we improve participation, how do we do things better perhaps than we have always done, but never have any of the board members said anything related to budget or trying to save a few bucks,” said Superintendent Michael Mahon.

The possibility of cutting the program brought both parents and student athletes to the meeting. They said they hope the board reviews the important role the middle school teams play in the success the school district celebrates on the high school level before any changes are made.

“We start with the kids that are four, five, and six years old (in the rec league) and work our way up to where kids end up getting scholarships for basketball, state championships in baseball, fantastic softball… And, the thought of this development being interrupted halfway through before high school, I think, had a lot of people concerned,” said McHugh.

Clarks Summit resident Greg Pascale said he would like to see more students attend after school programs as a whole, not just sports, saying after school activities are a way to keep children on the straight and narrow.

The money for the program was included in the $43.06 million budget that the board passed later that evening. The board also passed the athletic and non-athletic E.D.R. positions for the 2009-10 school year. One position missing from the list was that of rifle team head coach.

Mahon stated after the regular meeting that absence of the position did not mean there will not be a rifle team next year, and that it will be a topic of discussion at the board meeting on Wednesday, July 15.