Office of Secondary Education Carolyn O Keeffe Assistant Superintendent, Secondary Education Northshore School District 3330 Monte Villa Parkway Bothell, WA 98021 (425) 408-7703 May 18, 2012 TO: FR: RE: School Board Carolyn O'Keeffe Final Recommendation - 9 th Grade Sports Background The Secondary Sports Task Force reconvened as a committee on Thursday, May 17, 2012 after sub groups gathered data needed to make a final recommendation on the topic of 9 th grade sports for the 2012 2013 school year. Our continued goal as a committee is to meet the needs of our most elite 9 th grade athletes without diminishing or eliminating our junior high sports program for 9 th grade students. Although the Board requested that we consider a change to basketball, the Secondary Sports Task Force members believed that we needed to take a holistic approach to secondary sports and review all sports. Once we took a holistic view of all sports, we developed categories for different sports and determined that volleyball and soccer could move to D team, sub-varsity status at the same time basketball was being considered. Task Force members decided that it was better to move all five sports teams at once instead of a one at a time approach over the next two or three years. Recommendation Sports 1. HS D team sports create a new level of sub-varsity sports teams ( D ) and add these to our WIAA high school offerings. These D level teams will be housed at the junior highs; only 9 th graders are eligible for these teams. With this model, 9 th graders may try out and be eligible for varsity, junior varsity, C or D teams, depending on their level of expertise and skill. The following sports would include a D team: a. Basketball (boys and girls) b. Volleyball (girls) c. Soccer (boys and girls) 2. JH (7 th and 8 th grade only) sports create specific 7/8 sports teams that match up to our high school varsity and sub-varsity sports. As a task force, we believe that we need to offer these sports to our 7 th and 8 th graders in order to build our varsity and sub-varsity teams. There will be only one team of 7 th and 8 th graders combined for each sport which may reduce participation within these sports: a. Basketball (boys; girls) b. Soccer (boys; girls) c. Volleyball (girls) Page 1 of 5
3. JH (7, 8, 9 th grade) sports the following sports will remain at the 7 8 9 non-wiaa level of play as they are now. They will not be considered part of our menu of high school sports because there are no C or D teams in the KingCo 3 or 4A league to compete against. These are non-cut sports that may only have one team ( varsity ) on which students can play. The following sports will remain as junior high sports of mixed grade levels (7, 8, 9): a. Cross-country b. Track c. Tennis d. Wrestling 4. HS only sports continue offering the following sports at the high schools for junior high students within that high school pathway. These sports are available to 9 th graders only at their pathway high schools: a. Football b. Golf c. Swimming d. Gymnastics e. Baseball f. Softball Seasons There will be three junior high sports seasons that will fall within the three high school sports seasons. The junior high sports seasons will be shorter than the high school seasons. Details about the seasons will be developed upon final decision on this recommendation. Budget The following are estimated costs that will be incurred by the district and schools. Although they are estimates, we believe they accurately represent the potential increased costs due to the change of the five 9 th grade sports to sub-varsity WIAA sports. We have also included estimated revenue based on the potential increase to Pay to Play fees. Page 2 of 5
Expenditures Item Description Cost Coaches The coaches for the sub-varsity WIAA $68,000 sports at the 9 th grade will be paid at the higher level of pay of the high school assistant coach rather than the junior high varsity coach level of pay. There would be five additional coaches at this level at each junior high school. High School Athletic Directors The high school ADs will incur additional work and responsibilities with the creation of five sub-varsity WIAA sports teams. They will be responsible for all the staffing implications of the new assistant high school coaches as well as responsible for scheduling games, competitions and ensuring athletic eligibility. They would need to move from a.6 FTE AD position to a.8 FTE AD position. They receive 115 hours of additional pay as.6 FTE ADs, which will be reduced to 55 hours with the $53,000 Secretarial Support increase of the FTE for AD responsibilities ADs receive 20 hours of secretarial time to support their current responsibilities and duties, particularly with regards to student eligibility. With the increase of five sports moving to sub-varsity level, there will need to be an adjustment and addition to the hours provided to the ADs for the increased documentation Other Costs Transportation for away games for five sports per junior high Uniform costs (one time cost) Officials required for games Secured containers or areas for student sports equipment/bags Estimated Expenditures Junior high schools may need to purchase secured containers for students athletic gear that cannot be stored in their gym lockers $19,000 -- 2 hours of additional time added per week per secretary $72,000 - ($54,000 recurring costs) $27,000 transportation to away games; $15,000 officials; $18,000 ($3,000 per junior high school for D team uniforms (one time cost) $212,000 ($194,000 recurring costs) Page 3 of 5
Revenue ASB Cards 9 th grade students playing a high school varsity or sub-varsity sport will purchase the high school ASB card Junior highs will see a potential loss of ASB card revenue Pay to Play In order to make the change to 9 th grades sports budget neutral, it will be necessary to increase the pay to play fees for all high school sports. The following are three potential increases and the estimated revenue each would bring to the district general fund 20% increase Individual sport increase from $140 to $170 increase from $280 to $340 increase from $110 to $140 $560 40% Increase Individual sport increase from $140 to $200 increase from $280 to $400 increase from $110 to $170 $680 60% Increase Individual sport increase from $140 to $225 increase from $280 to $450 increase from $110 to $195 $780 70% Increase Individual sport increase from $140 to $240 increase from $280 to $480 increase from $110 to $210 $840 $1500 per high school in increased revenue for ASB Estimated revenue: $63,000 Estimated revenue: $118,000 Estimated revenue: $165,000 Estimated revenue: $196,000 Page 4 of 5
Expenditure Revenue from Pay to Play Increase Budget Implications $212,000 20% $63,000 $149,000 ($131,000) ($194,000 recurring 40% $118,000 $94,000 ($76,000) costs) 60% $165,000 $47,000 ($29,000) 70% $196,000 $16,000 (+$2,000) Continued Work: We recognize that there are other challenges to be resolved: 1. Facilities There may be conflicts with gym and/or field space usage, including community usage and revenue (decrease due to 9 th grade sub-varsity team practice and games) 2. Eligibility forms we will need to revise these forms to maintain consistency 3. Scheduling of games 4. Creating start and end times for junior high sports seasons 5. Working with AAA coaches needed for new sub-varsity teams 6. Support Services maintenance and operation impacts 7. Administration supervision impacts (high school sub varsity sports who supervises and attends games?) Conclusion and Final Recommendation The Secondary Sports Task Force recommends that the above changes to 9 th grade sports be implemented for the 2012 2013 sports seasons with the recommended fees and expenses factored into the total recommendation. If the increased fees and/or expenditures cannot be approved for the recommended changes to 9 th grade sports, the Secondary Sports Task Force recommends that the current sports configuration remain status quo. It is the belief of the Task Force that the implementation of the above changes to 9 th grade sports cannot be accomplished without the additional fees or expenditures. It is also important to continue to provide access to sports for as many students in 7 th, 8 th, and 9 th grades as possible. Page 5 of 5