Junior Varsity sports will not be cut in the Kern High School District.
Hundreds of employees and parents packed a school board meeting Thursday morning to appeal to the board not to cut JV sports.
"I am here today to encourage you to delay or stop the cutting of JV sports," said Paul Press with Tehachapi High School. "There are many considerations to take into hand before cutting a program all out."
Brooke Roberts, a teacher and volleyball coach, echoed those words. "We would like the opportunity to try and generate those funds through fundraisers and private donations," she told the board. "And I honestly think it may take a year to be able to acomplish that goal."
The board listened.
"I would like to propose any cuts to JV sports be moved to 2010-2011," said trustee Ken Mettler. "Not in the current year."
The other board members agreed.
For now junior varisty sports is back on the playing field for this upcoming school year.
Mettler also suggested scaling back summer school cuts dramatically.
Though salary cuts in the district are almost certain, most want to see them made across the board.
"We seemed to have drifted away from that equal opportunity," said Carlos Gomez, who has worked for the district for ten years. "In the sense of a top down function, decisions are always top down but it seems cuts are always from the bottom up."
Salary negotiations are made in private but board members agree all employees will share the same reduction in pay.
"I want that spread over every employee group equally," said Mettler. "How they achieve some of the details is in negotiations in how they achieve that."
In all, the board approved an additional $3.2 million in cuts for the upcoming school year.
But, Mettler says with the state in financial crisis the board may look to make more cuts down the road.
Mettler says none of the board members takes the $1,500 per month they are entitled to for serving on the school board.
He says they do get the same health insurance benefits as other employees, however, Bill Perry declines the coverage.
