School Budget, Part II
I went down to City Hall last night to observe the first round of budget deliberations by the School Committee. I was amazed to see about 25 other parents in the room, but soon realized that they were all there for one reason: to ask that an assistant coach be restored to the crew team.
Crew is a great sport and the head coach does a great job. Despite the loss of the boat house, the delay in getting docks and the lack of an assistant coach, the team is winning prestigious medals. There are currently 90 kids signed up and certainly that is too many for one coach to handle. It seems that more kids would join the team if the coach had the help. Two Varsity crew members spoke eloquently about the need for this position. Several Crew parents also spoke up for the program.
The school committee promptly voted the $23,000 to reinstate several assistant coach positions, including one for crew, that had been cut in the 2004 budget. They also voted some more money to the Athletic Department to create much-needed feeder programs from the middle schools for many sports that younger students might not be aware of, such as Lacrosse and tennis.
The crew parents are to be commended for coming out to support this program. I just wish we could muster some of this energy and support for the school system as a whole to fund more of the critical needs portion of the budget rather than just one line-item.
Crew is a great sport and the head coach does a great job. Despite the loss of the boat house, the delay in getting docks and the lack of an assistant coach, the team is winning prestigious medals. There are currently 90 kids signed up and certainly that is too many for one coach to handle. It seems that more kids would join the team if the coach had the help. Two Varsity crew members spoke eloquently about the need for this position. Several Crew parents also spoke up for the program.
The school committee promptly voted the $23,000 to reinstate several assistant coach positions, including one for crew, that had been cut in the 2004 budget. They also voted some more money to the Athletic Department to create much-needed feeder programs from the middle schools for many sports that younger students might not be aware of, such as Lacrosse and tennis.
The crew parents are to be commended for coming out to support this program. I just wish we could muster some of this energy and support for the school system as a whole to fund more of the critical needs portion of the budget rather than just one line-item.
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