Among sports on the chopping block are junior varsity football, junior high and middle school football, cheerleading, girls’ soccer, lacrosse, crew, wrestling and skiing. The cross country and indoor track seasons also remain questionable, but officials say they are seeking volunteer assistance to allow those sports to continue.

Ralph Neal, assistant superintendent for student services, told The Common Denominator he is particularly concerned that the elimination of sports programs will put hundreds of D.C. youths at a vulnerable age, from 13 to 15 years old, on the streets after school.

"We need to have young people engaged in wholesome after-school activities to keep them off the street," he said. "Without the activities, it’s going to impact the city."

Allen Chin, director of the school system’s athletics programs, said four of his department’s 19 employees will lose their jobs Aug. 15 to cut $180,000 from the department’s $1.8 million budget. The personnel cuts, eliminating one sports coordinator and three certified athletic trainers, were mandated as part of D.C. Public Schools’ recent decision to abolish more than 400 positions as a budget-cutting move.

Superintendent Paul L. Vance and the D.C. Board of Education originally sought an additional $900,000 for the schools’ cash-strapped athletics programs in the fiscal 2004 budget. But the budget approved by the D.C. City Council and Mayor Anthony A. Williams, and forwarded to Congress, included significant reductions in what school officials maintain is the necessary funding needed for the coming school year.

About 4,000 students participate in D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association (DCIAA) programs offered by the public schools. In response to a lawsuit filed by parents, D.C. Public Schools in 1990 created 13 positions for certified athletic trainers to comply with a law that requires the presence of health professionals at all DCIAA contests held in the District.

Frank E. Walters, who coordinates athletic health care services for the schools, recently recommended the elimination of all sports programs that did not exist before 1990 and a moratorium on new athletics programs "until we have added the number of athletic trainers to support any new initiatives." Walters noted that eliminating two of the 13 trainer positions in the mid-1990s due to budget cuts created numerous scheduling problems and that the two positions were restored only 16 months ago.

"While programs and activities were added, the requirement and demands for event coverage placed a significant and ever-increasing strain and burden on the reduced staff," Walters noted in a memo to Chin.

Walters said he recognizes that providing a "quality education" is the primary goal of the public schools.

"However, if we believe that athletics are also an integral part of the American education experience and that we want our students to have such an opportunity, then we must remain committed to providing them with an environment that is safe. . . . If the reduction in our athletic training staff is maintained, we will be unable to support the athletic program, at the current level, without significant changes," Walters wrote.

Neal said officials are searching for volunteers to help maintain the sports programs for the upcoming school year. But he said there has been "no indication yet" that appropriate volunteers will be found.

"We’re looking for a parent or principal with expertise in track or someone who is a retired coach to head the program," Neal said of the need to replace the eliminated sports coordinator, who ran the cross country, track and skiing seasons. "We’re asking for the community to volunteer to have a medical person at all of our athletic events."

Ultimately, Neal said, taxpayers need to provide adequate funding to support a comprehensive recreation program to keep the city’s children properly engaged and out of trouble. As a D.C. native and graduate of the public schools, Neal said he recalls the community benefits of providing extensive publicly funded programs in the 1940s through the 1960s.

"We need to pay on the front side, not on the back side," he said.

Copyright 2003, The Common Denominator