Board Puts Off Decision on Pay to Play Proposal

The interscholastic sports program at Eisenhower Middle School remains in doubt for the 2010-11 school year while the Board of Education debates how to fund the program.

The board must act before classes begin, however, if it hopes to preserve the program, which was a casualty of the reduced and voter-rejected budget. Members likely will hold a special meeting, perhaps as soon as Monday, to vote on proposals that would set a participation fee per sport while instituting a pilot character development program for all students who aim to try out for one of Eisenhower's eight interscholastic teams.

"If we can't get this done by next week, it won't be fair (to students) to start this mid-year," said board President Anthony Robert Francin at the board's Monday meeting. 

The plan to charge students and tie their participation to a character development exercise, as presented by Eisenhower Principal Steve Raimo and Athletic Director Jim Ciarlo, was tabled amid questions by the board and public, who doubted the fees, ability of teachers to participate in the character program and proposal to open the sports program to sixth-graders, among other concerns.

"I think it's premature to move on this," member Thomas Giamanco said, to the agreement of members Diane Sobin, Catherine Runge and Francin. Members Elizabeth DeGregorio, Lisa Martone and Jill Mortimer were absent.

As developed by Ciarlo and Raimo, the estimated $47,280 interscholastic program would be supplemented by fees paid per sport, on top of a requested $15,000 from the Board of Education. The tabled measure would set a charge of $259 for students to compete in the following sports: girls and boys soccer, girls and boys basketball, cheerleading, baseball and softball. If adopted, the board would ask parents of track athletes to pay $159 to play.

Raimo explained that the track charge was lower than other sports because youths interested in the sport don't have another alternative within Wyckoff Recreation. Business Administrator Alan Reiffe also said that the program's costs are spread throughout a much larger pool than other sports: up to 75 children regularly run track at Eisenhower, while a sport such as basketball may carry only 12 players.

However, some wondered whether the disparate charges were fair. Giamanco said the "perception would be that the other sports are subsidizing the track program," while calling the proposed fees "exorbitant." Although a survey of parents last year indicated that most would be amenable to a fee schedule, Runge said the board would be "asking people to pull out a lot of money from their pockets."

The fees would be per sport; parents of two three-sport athletes would see an extra bill for more than $1,500 under the proposal.

The sports program has been a topic of concern since the former board decided it would be cut when faced with a total loss of state aid. The expectation has always been that the board would institute a proposal such as pay-to-play to preserve the program, which has been open to seventh- and eighth-graders (although parents and board members questioned the wisdom of extending the program to sixth-graders, as proposed by Raimo and Ciarlo). 

The Township Committee, which was charged with reviewing the defeated budget, , as it also was concerned that young runners would not have an alternative if interscholastic sports were not retained.

Committeeman Chris DePhillips, a member of the Finance Committee that reviewed the defeated budget and liaison to the board, wondered Monday if the board had enough money to fund the entire sports program without asking parents for additional payments. He questioned whether retirements announced since the budget was drafted would provide enough funding to preserve the program.

Sobin agreed the board should take a look at savings, saying "if we can supplement (the program) on breakage in the budget, we should do that." Giamanco also "would like to see the district contribute more so the parents pay less."

Character Development

Raimo told the board that he and Ciarlo had developed a character development program to provide kids "with an advanced level of experience.

"We felt what we could do better is provide a structured character development program," the principal said.

Under their proposal, students interested in trying out for any sport would have to evaluated weekly by both teachers, coaches and their parents on their general efforts and behavior. Students would be graded on a 0-to-5 basis, from "poor" to "excellent," and would have to maintain an average score of 15 to play—or even to try out for a team.

"We want to motivate our players to perform in the classroom," Ciarlo said.

The program wouldn't necessarily measure performance; students who fail to get A's and B's in their core subjects would not be banished from interscholastic sports, for example. Instead, it would seek to measure whether the children are putting an honest effort into their school work, while also giving parents the option to pull their child from that week's game if they feel they don't deserve the option to play.

"The point is not to be punitive, it's to be inspirational," Raimo said.

Each student interested in a sport also would receive a weekly e-mail containing a short lesson on character development. The "foundation block" lessons would consist of a short narrative and perhaps a video demonstrating such values as teamwork, perseverance, humility, honesty, etc. Coaches would then be encouraged to build on those "blocks" during practice while questioning students on what they learned from the lessons.

While most praised the educators' goals, some questioned the implementation of such a program.

Parent Beth Sparozic felt the board would be "overstepping" its bounds by giving teachers "leverage" over student-athletes. Sobin wondered whether the perception among parents would be that they were paying for feedback from teachers via the weekly evaluations. Giamanco questioned whether teachers would have the time to handle such additional work.

"I anticipate teachers will back this program," Ciarlo said.

Rob LaMorte, vice president of the Wyckoff Education Association, said he saw the program as "positive reinforcement.

"I think this would be beneficial," LaMorte said.

Francin called the proposal "phenomenal" and said it represents "progressive thinking" but agreed with the other members present that more discussion was needed before the board can vote.

Patch will post notification of a special meeting should the board plan one in the near future.