News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The Sisters Outlaws have been a sports powerhouse over the past 15 years, despite the small size of the district. Sports are important to the community, evoking passion in students, coaches and parents alike.
But as school funding dwindles, those sports programs are under threat.
On Monday night, community members and school staff met to discuss a plan that would change how sports are administered in Sisters, creating a partnership between the school district and Sisters Park & Recreation District.
SPRD board member and school board candidate Andrew Gorayeb presented the proposal, which would create a new sports administration; coordinate and streamline fundraising, reducing reliance on the school district; centralize equipment purchasing; and inculcate a common Outlaws sports culture from youth sports through high school participation.
Gorayeb noted that there are some 30 sports programs in Sisters schools, costing about $500,000. Some of the costs of delivering sports programs have been hidden in overall budgets over the years. For example, the cost of bringing in a substitute for an absent teacher/coach has never been allocated to the athletic program in school budgets. Nor has the cost of additional janitorial services and the like.
Superintendent Jim Golden said he is committed to "rationalizing" the athletics budget so true costs can be understood. And it is clear, he said, that those costs are more than can be borne by a severely cash-strapped district.
Under the proposal, the number of tournaments and sports camps offered in Sisters would be ramped up significantly to draw in funding for programs and to provide an economic shot in the arm to the community. Such a tournament is scheduled next weekend, when some 1,500 lacrosse players will be in town.
Pay-to-play fees would be systematized and equalized across sports programs, with equity created between sports by pooling volunteer hours. These efforts, along with coordinated fundraising would stabilize funding for the entire athletic program.
Gorayeb and Golden both emphasized that the development of the new program is a process and that none of the proposals are absolutely fixed.
Public feedback was mixed. There was broad acceptance of the idea that the district must find a new way to deliver sports programs. There were concerns raised about the creation of a new bureaucracy to operate sports programs and how oversight of coaches would be handled. There was some skepticism about the potential revenue from camps and tournaments and questions about how the Oregon Scholastic Sports Association would view a new organization.
Those concerns and ideas from the public will be incorporated into further public discussions before a final proposal is developed for presentation to the school board.
Gorayeb and Golden emphasized the importance of facing the need for change. Without it, middle school sports face a complete funding cut and high school sports will see greatly reduced funding.
"We have to do this," Gorayeb said. "We have the opportunity to innovate... If we don't take the opportunity soon enough, it will pass us by."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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