• High school sports cuts High school sports cuts The voices of high school coaches are being heard across the Island, warning of possible cuts in high school athletic programs at Kaua‘i’s high schools. The cuts are aftereffects of Gov.
• High school sports cuts
High school sports cuts
The voices of high school coaches are being heard across the Island, warning of possible cuts in high school athletic programs at Kaua‘i’s high schools.
The cuts are aftereffects of Gov. Linda Lingle’s multi-million dollar trimming of the state’s education budget. The reasons behind the cuts are mostly due to too many dollars going out to pay for our state government versus the reality of the amount of tax dollars coming in. Hawai‘i has about twice as many state workers per capita as many states.
Fortunately for Lingle she’s not behind the eight ball, as California’s Gov. Davis is right now with a recall election a distinct possibility for October. Davis entered office with a sizeable surplus, and California is now over 25 billion dollars in debt, with car registration costs tripled this year to help raise tax dollars, and angering California residents.
Lingle is trying to keep Hawai‘i’s state budget balanced as she attempts to bring reform to state government. How her cuts are implemented in the state Department of Education are likely up to the administration of the department. So the sports cuts are likely a department decision.
A similar story appeared in The Garden Island last week, as Kaua‘i Community College is working out a solution aimed at keeping performances coming at its Performing Arts Center. The cost of air conditioning the center is about $1,000 per performance on weekends due to lack of funds for an independent cooling system – the existing cooling ducts are tied into a campus-wide system that cools down most of the buildings.
In both instances, the schools are looking at providing funding for their classrooms and students first, with athletics and cultural events down the list a ways.
The community is stepping up with support for the Performing Arts Center, while some coaches are already talking up fundraisers to keep threatened sports going, if necessary.
High school athletics, especially sports that don’t draw large crowds like varsity football and basketball, are important to the lives of many students. Discipline, team spirit and other positive traits can be gained by being on these teams. The sports surely keep some teenagers off drugs and provide them with a future.
The community should lobby hard with the DOE in regards to working something out to save these sports. Though it’s hard to imagine holding fundraisers to pay for things usually covered by the state taxes taken out of pay checks, and every time we face a cash register, holding fundraisers may be what it takes.
In addition, the root of these funding problems needs to be addressed, and the problem can’t be solved by raising taxes or spending tax dollars that just aren’t there. This problem didn’t begin over the past few years, but goes back to the massive raises in state spending and creation of state jobs that goes back at least 15 years.
The past is catching up to us and the children of Kaua‘i. It is going to take sacrifice and wise leadership to guide us beyond these problems. Let’s hope our leaders are able to lead us forward.
