Administration sticking it to the kids......... AGAIN!

[powerlifter90]

Possible Changes for PCSSD Athletic Programs
( Air Date: 2/14/2006 )

Starting this fall, parents in Pulaski County Special School District may need to rearrange their evening plans. The school board approved a measure to move all athletic programs, including dance and cheer, from the regular school day to after school.

"It scares me. I`m a parent also," said Jacksonville High School Athletic Director Jerry Wilson.

Wilson fears a proposal to move athletics after school could weaken the district`s chance of staying competitive.

"We`re afraid of losing kids, losing families to neighboring school districts," said Wilson.

Currently, athletes get home from practice anywhere between 4:30 and 6 pm. Under the new system, practices wouldn`t start until 4.

"You`re talking about those kids possibly getting home at 11 or 12 o`clock at night sometimes," added Wilson.

Cheer and dance teams would also be affected.

"We`ll either have to go off campus to practice which means transportation for those girls, or some dance studio, which we`ll have to wait and pay for," said Jacksonville Dance Coach Carletta Wilson.

As part of the district`s fiscal distress plan, the change would save $830,000 dollars, by cutting nine teaching positions.

"It`s not fair to the kids," said Joe T Robinson Athletic Director Todd Eskola.

Eskola remembers when Little Rock tried the same thing in the 90`s. He says it`s no coincidence that gang violence went up too.

"Look back at your timeline and it occurred around the same time that this happened. Kids gotta have something to be involved in, and if they`re not coming home from athletic practices until 9:30 at night, they`re going to be involved in something less constructive," said Eskola.

"I`m not convinced that you can elude gang violence to the fact that we`re having athletics after school," said Superintendent James Sharpe.

Sharpe doesn`t like the plan either, but says there`s no other choice at this time for a district trying to make a comeback.

"There are school districts in America where athletics is after school, and the schools are thriving," said Sharpe. "I think it is time for us to come together for the salvation of the district."

The superintendent says they`re working everyday on finding an alternative plan, but unless they raise over $800,000 dollars, this is pretty much a foregone conclusion, since the state has already approved it.

[footballfan-tastic]

You're telling me 9 teaching positions earn $830, 000?  That's $90, ooo apiece.

[johnharrison]

"Look back at your timeline and it occurred around the same time that this happened. Kids gotta have something to be involved in, and if they`re not coming home from athletic practices until 9:30 at night, they`re going to be involved in something less constructive," said Eskola.
.

He lost me on this part.  Under the new system the kids would get home (supposedly) at 930 to 1100 and then get into gang problems.  Under the old system, the kids get home at 6-7 and then do what with the extra time they have on their hands.................?

[footballfan-tastic]

the idea is they will ot participate in athletics because it is so late, there would be additional transportation problems. so they will find other things to do, not good things.

[wawa111]

I think you will see some pretty good athletic programs suffer from this. Their numbers are going to drop dramatically and I think they have a point, if these kids quit then they are going to find something to get involved in. i.e..gangs, violence, drugs,...i can't understand why any school would do this.

[ManchuCoach]

Which schools would be affected? Is it a done deal or can it be changed?

[JvilleDevils]

Terrible.

[SingleWingGuru]

Possible Changes for PCSSD Athletic Programs
( Air Date: 2/14/2006 )

Starting this fall, parents in Pulaski County Special School District may need to rearrange their evening plans. The school board approved a measure to move all athletic programs, including dance and cheer, from the regular school day to after school.

"It scares me. I`m a parent also," said Jacksonville High School Athletic Director Jerry Wilson.

Wilson fears a proposal to move athletics after school could weaken the district`s chance of staying competitive.

"We`re afraid of losing kids, losing families to neighboring school districts," said Wilson.

Currently, athletes get home from practice anywhere between 4:30 and 6 pm. Under the new system, practices wouldn`t start until 4.

"You`re talking about those kids possibly getting home at 11 or 12 o`clock at night sometimes," added Wilson.

Cheer and dance teams would also be affected.

"We`ll either have to go off campus to practice which means transportation for those girls, or some dance studio, which we`ll have to wait and pay for," said Jacksonville Dance Coach Carletta Wilson.

As part of the district`s fiscal distress plan, the change would save $830,000 dollars, by cutting nine teaching positions.

"It`s not fair to the kids," said Joe T Robinson Athletic Director Todd Eskola.

Eskola remembers when Little Rock tried the same thing in the 90`s. He says it`s no coincidence that gang violence went up too.

"Look back at your timeline and it occurred around the same time that this happened. Kids gotta have something to be involved in, and if they`re not coming home from athletic practices until 9:30 at night, they`re going to be involved in something less constructive," said Eskola.

"I`m not convinced that you can elude gang violence to the fact that we`re having athletics after school," said Superintendent James Sharpe.

Sharpe doesn`t like the plan either, but says there`s no other choice at this time for a district trying to make a comeback.

"There are school districts in America where athletics is after school, and the schools are thriving," said Sharpe. "I think it is time for us to come together for the salvation of the district."

The superintendent says they`re working everyday on finding an alternative plan, but unless they raise over $800,000 dollars, this is pretty much a foregone conclusion, since the state has already approved it.

If this happens it will effectively kill all atheletics in the Pulaski county school district.

[sportsmom]

I had never heard of a period for athletics until I moved to Arkansas.  I've been out of school for more than 20 years, but everything was after school; sports, clubs, yearbook, cheerleading, dance, etc.  Band and Journalism were classes but that was it.  In spite of this, my high school produced teams that were successful in multiple sports.   The kids that want to play or participate won't allow this to stop them.  the tough part will be getting the coaches to share facilities and alternate schedules.

[SingleWingGuru]

I had never heard of a period for athletics until I moved to Arkansas. I've been out of school for more than 20 years, but everything was after school; sports, clubs, yearbook, cheerleading, dance, etc. Band and Journalism were classes but that was it. In spite of this, my high school produced teams that were successful in multiple sports. The kids that want to play or participate won't allow this to stop them. the tough part will be getting the coaches to share facilities and alternate schedules.

I understand you have never heard of a period for sports.  This comes down to where you lived previously.

If you live in texas, california, lousiana, oklahoma, arkansas, florida, or alabama.... you are almost always taking up a period for atheletic programs.

Look at wisconsin (i've spent some time up there) their high school atheletics are more like a club---and an utter joke compared to what the other states listed bring to the table. (good atheletes do occaisionally come out of these programs, but they are generally in complete chaos and the school spirit is nill)

[RDFT]

I had never heard of a period for athletics until I moved to Arkansas. I've been out of school for more than 20 years, but everything was after school; sports, clubs, yearbook, cheerleading, dance, etc. Band and Journalism were classes but that was it. In spite of this, my high school produced teams that were successful in multiple sports. The kids that want to play or participate won't allow this to stop them. the tough part will be getting the coaches to share facilities and alternate schedules.

I've gone to schools in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Iowa and Ohio. All of them had athletics during the school day. For most, it replaced the Physical Education graduation requirement.

[JvilleDevils]

How do they expect the kids to work?

[SingleWingGuru]

How do they expect the kids to work?

Well in Wisconsin for example... my closest encounter with this type of atmosphere.... students are hardly ever in multiple sports... and the teams in general lack overall coached discipline.... there are skilled atheletes but the teams in general are comparable to a jv team or a good junior high team in the 6A and 7A down here.

Illinois isn't much better, i was there for thanksgiving and their state championships were on tv.... their largest classification could easily get ousted by a lower tier JV program in the 6A and 7A.

[JvilleDevils]

Well there are a few kids they play football and baseball. Football is usually during school and baseball afterwards. So if both are forced to be after school that means you have to do an hour of offseason football AND baseball after that plus have a job to pay for gas and car payments.......Horrible all the way around.

[wawa111]

This is stupid...it will kill the sports in the county, and is that what they want...kill athletics and your are committing social suicide..i still want to know how 9 teachers are taking up 830 G's...maybe instead of moving ath. to after school they should cut a few of those admin. postions that are making 100,000 a year...i bet they could get out of the red real quick, but it will never happen...lets hurt the kids and keep admin. rich...yeah our priorities are in line...this really pisses me off...

[powerlifter90]

I grew up in Nebraska and we had out last period designated as a study hall for the people that didn't participate in band, sports, etc.   If you played football (for example) you did your "pre-practice" stuff (film, taping, weight lifting, etc) the last period of the day, then went to practice after the bell rang and it was the same for the other sports.  If you were in the band you had band practice the last period etc, etc, etc.....  I agree that in some instances sports play too big of a role in a high school students life but in this case I do not. 

What is happening is the a-holes running the PCSSD are holding on for dear life so their district does not get taken over by the state.  They won't cut administrative jobs but will try every other method they can to balance the books.  From the supt on down my guess is they didn't play sports when they were in school and probably got picked on by the jocks.  This is just their way of getting even for things that happened to them 50 years ago.  My son is a Jr and thank God he'll be out of PCSSD in a little over a year, if he was younger I'd work 3 jobs to send him to a private school or move to Vilonia or Cabot.  We (the people in the Jax area) have been trying to break away from the Pretty Crooked and Sh&%y School District for years, with very little resulting from it other than psing off the administration.   This is just one more knife in our backs and our kids are the ones paying for it.  In the past if you wanted to participate in ?? activity you could, then go to a part time job.  With this new method you will have to choose between helping to support your family or your extra activities.  No-matter how you slice it the kids are the ones that will be hurt in the end.

[WBF †]

From an athlete that will be affected...for me it's gonna change how many hours I work, my church life, I already have no time for family(I'm never home unless I'm sleeping...), and so many other stuff.  PCSSD has some great athletic programs and this will kill every single one of them. It is impossible that this will save the district $830,000....that's unless their adding in the savings from all of the dead kids due to gangs and violence, etc. This is INSANE. WHAT IN THE HECK ARE THEY THINKING? ....It's different in other school districts and states that are ALREADY USED to having it after school. They have adjusted their lives and schedules around the "after school sports time", WE HAVEN'T. Whenever there's a meeting open to the public about this, I'm going, and I'm raising heck.

[ManchuCoach]

 

[ManchuCoach]

PCSSD will probably lose enough kids to offset any "savings" from this change; you have some real rocket scientists up there.

[WBF †]

you're exactly right...PCSSD IS TERRIBLE.

[johnharrison]

What do the private and public schools in LR do?

[mudturtle]

ECS (Episcopal) practices after school (or 6am), but that might be part of the reason they lost their FB coach.

[wawa111]

who is ECS

[wawa111]

I just think we are ripping the kids off by doing this. They can't do anything about it. The post above is probably right...Pulaski Co. Admin. were probably geeks who couldn't play a sport if their life depended on it, and now they can hurt those jocks that used to beat them up in the bathrooms...not that picking on kids is right, but you get my point...the kids are getting screwed and they should be #1

[WBF †]

heck yeah we are.....they're all freekin idiots up there in central office.Trying to do us good for 2-3 years now and still havent done anything right. I'm running for superintendent next year. THATS FINAL.

[tiger96]

Everybody is worrying about how this is effecting the kids in such a negative manner...and that is fine.  But why doesn't somebody consider how this effects the coaches.  They already give up so much time with their family in order to work with their players.  But when you take even more of their family time, I find it hard to believe that a coach would actually WANT to work for that school district!

[SingleWingGuru]

Everybody is worrying about how this is effecting the kids in such a negative manner...and that is fine. But why doesn't somebody consider how this effects the coaches. They already give up so much time with their family in order to work with their players. But when you take even more of their family time, I find it hard to believe that a coach would actually WANT to work for that school district!

Well the idea is to make all of the coaches teach as well as be coaches.... either that or they are not considered a full time employee anymore and become a para-professional... aka... 10-15,000 a year.


Basically, if passed, they will kill all atheletics in the school district and NO worthy coach will want to coach there.

[WBF †]

I wouldnt want to coach there.

[footballfan-tastic]

I know of a teacher/coach who never really taught.  He would go in give a book assignment and read the paper.  One day he looked up, about 15-20 minutes into class because some students started laughing, and the principal was writing away on his evaluation form.  Finished it signed it, handed it to him and walked out.

[WBF †]

nice story...and it had a happily ever after...well kind of?!

[johnharrison]

Exorcist - I am still thinking whether the coach got a "Hire" "Don't Re-
hire" depended on his win-loss record

[R. A.™]

I know of a teacher/coach who never really taught. He would go in give a book assignment and read the paper. One day he looked up, about 15-20 minutes into class because some students started laughing, and the principal was writing away on his evaluation form. Finished it signed it, handed it to him and walked out.

I've have heard of something simular happening before and the principal doing the observing was told not to ever renenter the coach's classroom again.  Basically told... a principal comes a dime a dozen, a good football coach is hard to find.

[SingleWingGuru]

I know of a teacher/coach who never really taught. He would go in give a book assignment and read the paper. One day he looked up, about 15-20 minutes into class because some students started laughing, and the principal was writing away on his evaluation form. Finished it signed it, handed it to him and walked out.

I've have heard of something simular happening before and the principal doing the observing was told not to ever renenter the coach's classroom again. Basically told... a principal comes a dime a dozen, a good football coach is hard to find.

If he is that good of a football coach, he shouldn't be in a classroom anyway.

[mudturtle]

If he is that good of a football coach, he shouldn't be in a classroom anyway.

Absolutely!  And as long as the school isn't giving him a nickel that could be spent educating the kids, I could care less how much time he reads the paper.

[ArrowsATC]

Sorry, but I believe the schools are designed to educate the students. There are schools in this state that have illiterate students in the 10th grade. Adding more class time is never a negative. Sports are not the main focus of schools.

[WBF †]

but this web site is to talk about sports...not "school"!

[ArrowsATC]

Agreed, but as is evident by this thread sports and school go hand in hand. And even the title is "the online home of arkansas HIGH SCHOOL sports" Noone is a bigger fan of High School athletics than I am, ask anyone at any of the schools I have worked for, I just believe that athletics are a part of school, but should not decrease the learning that the schools are built for.

[WBF †]

.....just given you a hard time...chill pickle!

[kmmbs]

It is time to move all school districts to a county system.  Jonesboro for example has 5 school districts.  Go to one county system, you could save a million dollars easy.

[SingleWingGuru]

It is time to move all school districts to a county system. Jonesboro for example has 5 school districts. Go to one county system, you could save a million dollars easy.

Really?  Do tell how you would save a million dollars?

Of the school districts consolidating administratively and namewise.... how much money have they saved?

ZERO DOLLARS.  You want to know why?  Because superintindents are still making 150,000+.  And they don't get rid of them when they consolidate... they just make them assistant supers.... so you go from having 1 chief and 1 indian.... to having 1 chief that makes EVEN more and a bunch of indians that make as much as they did.

[kmmbs]

you have to eliminate a bunch of those positions. The state of Arkansas could save over $25 Mill

[wawa111]

you are right but it will never happen...and about having more class time because there are kids that can't read in the 10th grade...well so will having 50 more minutes a day make that happen...i don't think it will...if a teacher can't teach them that in 6 hours then what will giving them one more do...i don't think it is about education, i think it is a easy way for them to say they are going to save the district money, which i don't believe either...i think bin laden is behind the whole thing...

[WBF †]

The kids have to WANT to be able to read. Most of the kids at my school dont care about an "A"...all they want to do is PASS with a "D". They're concerned with girls,sports, and you can geuss what else. You have to WANT to improve. Why waste money on kids that dont want to learn? Find a way to get the kids who want to learn MORE money than the kids who dont. Then the school systems would be a lot better. Giving money to  schools with some of the worst test scores in the state(jacksonville) doesnt make sense to me. I go to JAX and we dont deserve the money...we don't earn it. About 40 % of us here want to learn, the others want sex and drugs. Weed out the bad, then itd all be better.

[givemeabreak]

It is time to move all school districts to a county system. Jonesboro for example has 5 school districts. Go to one county system, you could save a million dollars easy.

A million dollars would not pay the monthly bills for most schools.

Some of you people do not live in the "real" world, where there are many kids only go to school to play ball. Take that away and they will move or quit school.  If 20 kids drop out or move from a district that equals about $100,000 loss (over $5000 per kid) in state funding for that district. The kids whose parents can afford to move districts for sports are also taking tax dollars out of that district. 

Simply put, killing sports will kill schools.

[mudturtle]

Some of you people do not live in the "real" world, where there are many kids only go to school to play ball. Take that away and they will move or quit school. .

So November 1 of their senior year they no longer have any reason to attend school and drop out.  Our education system really served that kid well! 

"i wud like a job becuz i nede cash.  Kan't rede or rite 2 gud but can kach and chute good."

If high school sports has 1/4 the benefits you claim, I am surprised that Cummins, Tucker and all the big county jails don't start teams.

[givemeabreak]

Not every job requires redeing and riting good as a qualification.  This may seem harsh, but there is a need for common labor, and that's what many of those kids do later in life. 
Some that kach and chute real gud pay some one real well to do their redeing and riting for them.

BTW, I believe that one of those prisons mentioned does have their own teams. I can remember playing basketball against one of them.

[johnharrison]

I can't tell you how valuable an employee is when you hand him a bottle of weed killer to mix up "by the label instructions" and you stop by an hour later to find about 100 gallons worth of herbicide went into a 5 gallon canister.

You are right, GMAB, VoTech is a great alternative to college.  Jobs paying $40,000 to $80,000 (and up) are out there for non college grads who are smart, willing to train and work hard. 

You may find a few, but most VoTech teachers aren't so enthusiastic about the long term prospects of someone who isn't interested in reading and writing because he plans "to pay some one real well to do ...redeing and riting for them."

Go to school.  Stay there until you can read, write, and do basic algebra and then get a job, train in a skill, or go to college. 

The key is to give yourself as many opportunities as possible and pick the one that suits you best.

[powerlifter90]

y'all are missing the point................... everyone knows that you go to school to learn, to someday "try" to get into college so you can get a higher education and make a better life for yourself. 

BUT, it seems in this case that the administration is trying to make it harder and harder for the kids to do homework, have a job and/or participate in extra-curricular activities.

[wawa111]

mudturtle was the guy who  never got picked in school...he is a lamo that wants to get back at all the athletes in the world...

[givemeabreak]

The key is to give yourself as many opportunities as possible and pick the one that suits you best.

For some the only possibilities are digging a ditch, VoTech ain't for everybody either. MANY more kids leave high school and go straight to work, instead of more school. Some of them make more money than people with "higher" educations.  I have a college degree and rarely use any algebra, much less need to know who the 14th president was or how to conjugate sentences. Many kids are getting algebra when they need to know how to balance a check book and other "simple" maths. Instead we are trying to teach them how to find the cosine of angles, yeah I use that one every day.
Also there are some athletes who get the chance to go to college b/c they "kach/chute gud"... that opportunity would not be there (or wanted) if it were not for ball.
School is not the devil.....but neither is ball!