Kennett cuts 4 sports programs for upcoming school year

KENNETT, Mo.,--In an effort to help balance the district's budget, the Kennett Board of Education made the decision to cut four sports programs from the school's lineup for the upcoming school year.

According to Superintendent Jerry Noble, the district will cut boys' soccer, girls' soccer, boys' tennis, and girls' fall softball. Noble said the cuts were made as a cost-saving measure, adding that the district has seen cuts around the academic levels as well.

"First of all, you know [about] the budget cuts," Noble said. "We've made cuts in personnel, supplies, and other areas in the academic area and we felt like the extra-curricular areas should also help support some of these budget cuts."

Noble said the board looked at the different sports, such as fall softball, and discussed whether the district should continue them. With fall softball, Noble said the district decided to have one season instead of having both fall and spring softball.

"We know that we have a district tournament in the fall and if our kids play spring softball, they will not be allowed to participate in district in the fall," Noble said. "However, we made several attempts to either move the season, or to have two state champions. We have voted on that a few times and it has never passed.

"To balance out the activities, by keeping spring softball, what that does is in the fall, we will have volleyball and tennis, which a lot of our girls play tennis. In the spring, we will have track and softball. If you keep softball in the fall and drop spring, then you've only got one activity basically for the girls in the spring and three in the fall. That is why we stopped fall softball. [That], and of course for financial reasons, we were going to drop one of them.

"Then it comes to soccer. Whenever the soccer program was implemented several years ago, it was hoped at that time that the teams in this area would play soccer and we would be able to get officials and different things. We are struggling to find officials for one thing and we have to pay more to get them to come down here. We had trouble finding a coach as well. We've never really had someone who went to school to be a soccer coach. In the last few years, we have had to use elementary teachers. We have had to take them out of class because we didn't have the position open. Had it not been for the budget cuts, for boys soccer, the plan was to try to find a soccer coach for the vacant P.E. position. But we didn't even fill the P.E. position because of the budget cuts. So we didn't have a position open for a coach and the travel was so expensive. So, when we looked for areas to cut, that was where we went with soccer, boys' and girls' soccer."

When asked if the success or lack of success of the soccer teams played any part in the decision to cut the programs, Noble said, "I can't speak for the board members, all I can tell you is for myself and Mr. [Chris] Wilson. When we looked at areas to try to save some money, I didn't look at the success at all."

Noble said he cannot say whether the board members who voted to make the cuts looked at the records.

"We had to cut something [and] we had more difficulties with those programs," Noble said.

Noble said although the four programs were cut, he doesn't expect it to have any significant impact on the district's other sports.

"I don't think [the cuts] affect the other sports at all, other than there may be a few girls who played soccer that will play softball," Noble said. "It will help the volleyball program and maybe the [girls'] tennis [program] because there won't be a conflict in the fall with softball. In the spring, we had some girls who played fall softball that played soccer in the spring. So, it will probably help the softball [program]."

Noble said the soccer program has always had mixed feelings through the community, and a committee was formed to oppose the start of the program when it was implemented.

"Soccer has been a controversial issue since it was implemented. Whenever soccer was implemented, a committee was formed that recommended that they do not implement the program. They said what will happen is we will not be able to find coaches, we will not be able to find teams to play and we will have to travel enormous distances to play, and we will not be able to find officials."

"I understand people are upset. One thing I've said from the very beginning, and I've told the board this, is if we are going to have it, we need to do it right. We never have really done it, in my opinion, the way it should have been done. We have never been able to get a highly qualified coach. We had people who volunteered to do it, and openly said they didn't know much about soccer, but they were willing to do it. We have been criticized about not being able to find a coach, but the few who did contact us, were not qualified to teach in the areas that we had available. I can understand the frustration."

Noble said one criticism the district has received is that it was over saturated with sports, which was spreading the athletes too thin.

Another question raised was how can the district say soccer wasn't a success when more athletes have received scholarships for soccer or been looked at by colleges for soccer compared to something like the football program.

"We are not here to try to get athletic scholarships for kids," Noble said. "This is an academic institution. Budget cuts are affecting our ability to reduce class sizes and to offer some programs that we have in the past and you have to look at it from that viewpoint.

"I know some kids have gotten soccer scholarships, but they will tell you, every one of them will tell you they didn't get a scholarship because of the school program. They got their scholarship because they got extra training, or for playing out in the community teams or something like that. None of them will tell you they got a scholarship because of the training they got here at school playing soccer.

"In any of our sports programs, we are not trying to develop college athletes. That is not our purpose."

Noble said that the four cuts were made, not because the board didn't like the programs, but to assist in balancing the budget.

"Ultimately, we are trying to balance our budget," Noble said. "We have cut over $700,000 out of the budget for the coming year by not replacing retirees [and] we have actually cut two non-certified positions. We are going to have to pay for the Parents As Teachers program ourselves next year. We are going to keep it because we feel like early childhood education is important and we need to do that.

Sports Editor Dustin Sullivan contributed to this report.