New Haven Students Rally to Save Sports and Music Programs

More than 500 students skipped class for a cause Wednesday morning—to sound an alarm about the pending cuts to the school district’s sports and music programs.

With the failure of Measure B, a temporary emergency funding parcel tax, announced earlier this week, New Haven Unified School District’s extra- and co-curricular programs are being placed on the chopping block.

students, along with some from , gathered at 8 a.m. in the Logan parking lot for a peaceful demonstration to speak out on the issue.

Students crowded the parking lot and sidewalk along Alvarado-Niles Road, waving signs and grabbing the attention of passersby, before marching a short distance to the NHUSD office for the rally.

“Now that we’re here, we have our voices out,” said Logan senior Ashraf Dahud during the rally. “I don’t see how they can cut a world-class color guard, a world first-place band, a baseball team who’s on the way to NCS (North Coast Section finals).”

One by one, more students, such as track and field captain Viv Shetty, spoke over a microphone about their experiences in the programs currently at risk.

“We put Union City on the map. Nobody knows who Union City is unless it has to do with James Logan High School sports,” Shetty said. “If you cut it, it’s cutting Union City’s identity.”

See students speak out in the accompanying video clip.

Wednesday’s demonstration was spearheaded by Logan senior and varsity basketball player Alonzo Rosales, who grew concerned when Measure B appeared to be failing last week. On Thursday, he began calling friends to plan the rally—his first time organizing such an event. On Sunday, he released a short video that featured interviews with his fellow classmates and a call for others to join him in the rally.

“My grandmother told me a quote: 'Thoughts determine what you want, and actions determine what you get.’ I stuck with that for the rest of my life,” Rosales said at the rally. “When I saw that our school is in crisis, the future of our city, not just Logan but our city, I knew I had to speak up and try to make a change.”

Rosales, who sported a black T-shirt with the words “Save Our Future” in block letters, acknowledged that without sports, he might have fallen through the cracks as some of his classmates have.

“They’re not just cutting sports, they’re cutting lives, they’re cutting potential and they’re cutting opportunities for us,” Rosales said.

District officials stood by and watched as the rally unfolded.

“We’d prefer the kids were in class because they’re missing learning time, but I think we all understand that the kids need their voices heard, and they’re understandably frustrated with what happened to Measure B,” said district spokesman Rick La Plante during the rally.

Measure B, a $180 parcel tax, was just shy—less than .3 percent—of passing in a May 3 special election. The tax would have generated $3 million a year for the next four years to help maintain after-school activities, preserve instructional time and minimize class size increases. As a result of the measure not passing, class sizes in K-3 classrooms may increase from 25 to 30 students, the school year may be shortened by five days to 175 school days, and extra- and co-curricular programs will face cuts.

While they impact the budget less than instruction time and class sizes, extra-curricular programs are important to students, La Plante said. According to La Plante, the district spends $350,000 a year for coach and adviser stipends to cover costs of activities and events.

“We don’t expect coaches to coach for nothing and we don’t expect advisers to do their duties for nothing,” La Plante said.

The one-time per year stipends can equal up to 5 percent of an employee’s annual salary, La Plante said. “It amounts to pennies to a dollar—you wouldn’t want to be paid their hourly rate—but when you have as many activities as we do, that’s a big chunk of change.”

La Plante said it was “too soon to know” if the district will revise the measure for a November election.

Not Over Yet

Measure B campaign manager Richard Valle also attended Wednesday’s rally, where he told Union City Patch that he is currently working out details with the Alameda County Registrar of Voters for a recount of votes next week.

Valle said he will be present during the recount “so I can challenge it on-site.” The recount could cost up to $5,000, which may come out of Valle’s own pocket because there may be little left in the campaign budget once the committee pays the Registar of Voters office $5,600 for operating the various ballot drop-off sites, Valle said.

If the recount is unsuccessful, the programs may be saved through the efforts of students and the New Haven Boosters Association. The organization is already planning a series of events to raise the $350,000 to pay for coach and adviser stipends next school year, said Michael Ritchie, co-chair of the New Haven Boosters Association. Ritchie, his wife Lorrene and his middle-school son Nathan were also at Wednesday's rally.

As the rally wrapped up, senior Farah Habad reiterated Alonzo’s call to take action.

“We’ve got to act and we’ve got to make sure that this is not the end of it,” Habad said. “We’re gonna continue the rally and we’re gonna walk back to school, because no one’s going to listen to us if we’re not taking care of business in the classroom.”