Time to cut the High School sports programs?

[rmac]

As schools find money getting tighter I think you will see what some districts do as some districts in other states are are doing.  That is pay to play.  Here is just one article I found on this.

http://sportsgirlsplay.com/is-pay-to-play-for-high-schools-sports-becoming-the-norm/

I have some friends in Illinois that had to pay $150.00 a year for their boys to play football and $100.00 a year for them to play baseball and that was several years ago.

[trueblue75]

[quote name="rmac" post="982591" timestamp="1300136457"]
As schools find money getting tighter I think you will see what some districts do as some districts in other states are are doing.  That is pay to play.  Here is just one article I found on this.

http://sportsgirlsplay.com/is-pay-to-play-for-high-schools-sports-becoming-the-norm/

I have some friends in Illinois that had to pay $150.00 a year for their boys to play football and $100.00 a year for them to play baseball and that was several years ago.
[/quote]

I personally think this might be a good idea. We pay for most of our kids equipment as a lot of it isn't provided anyways. This might take away the ones that are only there to waste time and get an easy "A" on the report card. The Southern school districts can learn A LOT from the Northern districts. There's a reason a lot of them have higher rankings!!!  I would rather pay for a coach that would promote his players to the next level then to have one that is there for whatever extra piddly money they're collecting. Those coaches are teaching our kids squat!!!

[belle-mere]

[quote name="rmac" post="982591" timestamp="1300136457"]
As schools find money getting tighter I think you will see what some districts do as some districts in other states are are doing.  That is pay to play.  Here is just one article I found on this.

http://sportsgirlsplay.com/is-pay-to-play-for-high-schools-sports-becoming-the-norm/

I have some friends in Illinois that had to pay $150.00 a year for their boys to play football and $100.00 a year for them to play baseball and that was several years ago.
[/quote]

But, what about the kids without $$. I've heard about pay-to-play, but how are poor students able to play?  Guess I'd better do some research on that.

[Guest jhamilton]

Many of a good teachers have or are letting let go of area school districts. i feel horrible for the new teacher that has loans and no job .

[belle-mere]

[quote name="beechnut" post="982770" timestamp="1300154785"]
Many of a good teachers have or are letting let go of area school districts. i feel horrible for the new teacher that has loans and no job .
[/quote]

I feel for so many of the new teachers too & for the kids just graduating & looking for jobs. It's a sad time in education, & the students will suffer.  I heard that a lot if districts are cutting coaches especially.

I guess this is really a new topic--sorry. I just had to agree with Beechnut.

[TheCardinalFan]

[quote name="liltex" post="980023" timestamp="1299684727"]
?Where the heck did all the lotto $ go that was suppossed to go to education ::) ::)
[/quote]

It's the old bait and switch!!!  The LOTO money goes to public education.  Exchange on chunk of money for another, no additional money unless you play the LOTO more!

[Guest jhamilton]

[quote name="TheCardinalFan" post="989046" timestamp="1301264547"]
[quote author=liltex link=topic=81493.msg980023#msg980023 date=1299684727]
?Where the heck did all the lotto $ go that was suppossed to go to education ::) ::)
[/quote]

It's the old bait and switch!!!  The LOTO money goes to public education.  Exchange on chunk of money for another, no additional money unless you play the LOTO more!
[/quote]

The old hag ann richards promised us right?

[bronco1]

We get suckered into the idea that, Money equals Higher Quality Education by using our kids as the victim or recipient. Truth is you shouldn’t have to pay a teacher more to do a better job. We are all feeling the pinch of a poor economy right now, in the private sector, businesses have had to cut back to stay afloat. The public sector should have cut back first, since the private sector pays their salary. I am not anti-teacher at all; I appreciate and see the value in their profession. The answer is not in cutting out the activities that make kids want to be at school. I am weary of people who want to cut teachers and/or extracurricular activities first. There are a lot of other places you can cut first.

[NeverSayDie]

I wonder what would happen to the DROPOUT rate, if you dropped high school athletics?

[hitman009]

[quote name="bobtex" post="982540" timestamp="1300130590"]
In High School Boys Sports; Football, Basketball, Baseball and Soccer are money makers for the school!
[/quote]really all sports do not make money.... football may be the only one that might profit a little money... If you look at the costs (lights, equipment, refs, coaches salary, etc..) they all lose money but it is worth having for the kids...

[kicker]

[quote name="hitman009" post="989310" timestamp="1301331729"]
[quote author=bobtex link=topic=81493.msg982540#msg982540 date=1300130590]
In High School Boys Sports; Football, Basketball, Baseball and Soccer are money makers for the school!
[/quote]really all sports do not make money.... football may be the only one that might profit a little money... If you look at the costs (lights, equipment, refs, coaches salary, etc..) they all lose money but it is worth having for the kids...
[/quote]

Well, i dont know. I honestly believe that some schools profit quit a bit off of football. Look at your big HISD schools like Pearland. "The Rig" as it is called in Pearland probably has a capacity of 15k,(im speculating, havent checked), and their games are always capacity during the season. Also, our tickets around here are 5 dollars, and theirs are 8 dollars. So lets say that they have 70% capacity for a home game(or 10,500 people). Thats about 84k at that game. at a minimum of 5 home games per season, and the gate they charge for playoff games(wich ALOT of playoff games are played there)and they probably make over 1mil per season. i could be very wrong, but that is just an uneducated guess. Thats alot of money for 1 sport. Some D1 colleges dont even budget 1mil per season, so see what I mean? Football makes money!

[WOSgrad]

Capacity for The Rig is 9,200.

[kicker]

[quote name="WOSgrad" post="989330" timestamp="1301332997"]
Capacity for The Rig is 9,200.
[/quote]

Ok, then they still probably pull in over a mil. Maybe more. They have playoff games there starting on Thursday nights all the way to Saturday Nights. And then there are multiple games per day. My math is probably flawed, but do you see my point? Alot of money.

[WOSgrad]

[quote name="kicker" post="989332" timestamp="1301333266"]
[quote author=WOSgrad link=topic=81493.msg989330#msg989330 date=1301332997]
Capacity for The Rig is 9,200.
[/quote]

Ok, then they still probably pull in over a mil. Maybe more. They have playoff games there starting on Thursday nights all the way to Saturday Nights. And then there are multiple games per day. My math is probably flawed, but do you see my point? Alot of money.
[/quote]

You're right it doesn't take away from the point.

[hitman009]

[quote name="kicker" post="989322" timestamp="1301332631"]
[quote author=hitman009 link=topic=81493.msg989310#msg989310 date=1301331729]
[quote author=bobtex link=topic=81493.msg982540#msg982540 date=1300130590]
In High School Boys Sports; Football, Basketball, Baseball and Soccer are money makers for the school!
[/quote]really all sports do not make money.... football may be the only one that might profit a little money... If you look at the costs (lights, equipment, refs, coaches salary, etc..) they all lose money but it is worth having for the kids...
[/quote]

Well, i dont know. I honestly believe that some schools profit quit a bit off of football. Look at your big HISD schools like Pearland. "The Rig" as it is called in Pearland probably has a capacity of 15k,(im speculating, havent checked), and their games are always capacity during the season. Also, our tickets around here are 5 dollars, and theirs are 8 dollars. So lets say that they have 70% capacity for a home game(or 10,500 people). Thats about 84k at that game. at a minimum of 5 home games per season, and the gate they charge for playoff games(wich ALOT of playoff games are played there)and they probably make over 1mil per season. i could be very wrong, but that is just an uneducated guess. Thats alot of money for 1 sport. Some D1 colleges dont even budget 1mil per season, so see what I mean? Football makes money!
[/quote]I guess you can say that if you do not factor in ALL of the expenses...
lets say "The Rigs" has 10,000 seating comp..... and lets set the price of a ticket at $10......  and they sell out every game....   10 games (2 teams play) is $1,000,000 a year....
Now how much did it cost to build that stadium.... I could not find it but lets say it is as much as "Carol Thomas Stadium".....  $40,000,0000..... So in 40 years you could make a good profit.... well renavations have to be made.... add another 5 million in 40 years.... so make that 45 years....
Oh wait what about cost of lights(i heard they cost $500 just to turn on) every game including JV, and freshman games.... refs, equipment(helmets, shoulder pads, jerseys, footballs, work out equipment) INSURANCE, medical persons on site, coaching salarys, trainers on staff, rehab equipment, athletic tape, Travel money (some districts charge the athletic department $400 to go 30 miles), a staff for clean up after games, staff for washing clothes every day, lockers,  ...etc..
as for playoff games... schools rent it out... they do not collect the profits for the game.... ticket sales go back to the schools that are playing...
Now that I think about it... football costs the most....

But like I said.... It is for the kids... you cant put a price tag on what sports do for the kids.... Sports teach life lessons....

[ncplaya]

[quote name="NeverSayDie" post="989230" timestamp="1301323392"]
I wonder what would happen to the DROPOUT rate, if you dropped high school athletics?
[/quote]

EXACTLY!  AND I know at our school if an athlete is acting up in class an email is sent and is taken care of. 

[Ftballfan11]

As much as people want to think that academics is the only thing that matters in school, it's not. Of course in the long run students are going to benefit more by being educated than being a football player or softball, etc., but there are so many more things in high school that students don't receive by just going to class. Of course without high school sports the drop out rate would increase immensely (as already stated) but there are life skills learned through sports. I would in no way, shape, or form be the person I am today if I didn't learn how to overcome adversity presented to me through games and training in my years of high school. High school sports also give many kids an incentive to pass, which is another plus added to the list. There are bigger issues in this world besides money and standardized testing and getting rid of fun things to make education so much more serious. The state and federal governments are too worried about being so strict on students with standardized tests and having these budgets that high school is becoming nothing more than an absolutely hated place where even less is getting accomplished. I went to school and took that TAKS and because of TAKS (which I hear is getting the boot), the teachers were forced to teach TAKS and not the material that they really needed to teach. If high school sports were done away with, the focus would no longer be on the well-being of students, but rather on money.

[BaseballWarrior]

If the dropout rate rises because a student can't play athletics and has no self-motivation to make themself a better individual, then what does that say about our kids? I would never want athletics to be cut, there are too many positives. I played sports and understand the good, but I don't understand needing an incentive to pass. Why can't a student just want to be a good student and complete there high school education?

[Piratesdad4410]

[quote name="BaseballWarrior" post="990629" timestamp="1301504857"]
If the dropout rate rises because a student can't play athletics and has no self-motivation to make themself a better individual, then what does that say about our kids? I would never want athletics to be cut, there are too many positives. I played sports and understand the good, but I don't understand needing an incentive to pass. Why can't a student just want to be a good student and complete there high school education?
[/quote]
Because we live in the real world and some kids just need that motivation.

[BaseballWarrior]

[quote name="Piratesdad4410" post="990660" timestamp="1301507968"]
[quote author=BaseballWarrior link=topic=81493.msg990629#msg990629 date=1301504857]
If the dropout rate rises because a student can't play athletics and has no self-motivation to make themself a better individual, then what does that say about our kids? I would never want athletics to be cut, there are too many positives. I played sports and understand the good, but I don't understand needing an incentive to pass. Why can't a student just want to be a good student and complete there high school education?
[/quote]
Because we live in the real world and some kids just need that motivation.
[/quote]

So what motivation are 'those' kids going to have to get through college? Especially the 95% who don't play college athletics?  They really need to be able to pass because they want to do well, not because they won't play if they fail. How about parents, college, careers, where is that motivation? Or are we basically saying, "Man I can't wait to get to school where I can barely squeeze by just to be able to play my sport." Sounds lazy to me

[Ftballfan11]

[quote name="BaseballWarrior" post="990680" timestamp="1301509861"]
[quote author=Piratesdad4410 link=topic=81493.msg990660#msg990660 date=1301507968]
[quote author=BaseballWarrior link=topic=81493.msg990629#msg990629 date=1301504857]
If the dropout rate rises because a student can't play athletics and has no self-motivation to make themself a better individual, then what does that say about our kids? I would never want athletics to be cut, there are too many positives. I played sports and understand the good, but I don't understand needing an incentive to pass. Why can't a student just want to be a good student and complete there high school education?
[/quote]
Because we live in the real world and some kids just need that motivation.
[/quote]

So what motivation are 'those' kids going to have to get through college? Especially the 95% who don't play college athletics?  They really need to be able to pass because they want to do well, not because they won't play if they fail. How about parents, college, careers, where is that motivation? Or are we basically saying, "Man I can't wait to get to school where I can barely squeeze by just to be able to play my sport." Sounds lazy to me
[/quote]
For starters, we are talking about adolescence here, not adults. Secondly, without the time and dedication to sports many kids go to other things outside of school that would jeopardize not only school and grades, but lives. Last, sorry that we don't live in an utopian society where everyone wants to always work as hard as they can at school work!

[JohnnyT60]

[quote name="BaseballWarrior" post="990680" timestamp="1301509861"]
[quote author=Piratesdad4410 link=topic=81493.msg990660#msg990660 date=1301507968]
[quote author=BaseballWarrior link=topic=81493.msg990629#msg990629 date=1301504857]
If the dropout rate rises because a student can't play athletics and has no self-motivation to make themself a better individual, then what does that say about our kids? I would never want athletics to be cut, there are too many positives. I played sports and understand the good, but I don't understand needing an incentive to pass. Why can't a student just want to be a good student and complete there high school education?
[/quote]
Because we live in the real world and some kids just need that motivation.
[/quote]

So what motivation are 'those' kids going to have to get through college? Especially the 95% who don't play college athletics?  They really need to be able to pass because they want to do well, not because they won't play if they fail. How about parents, college, careers, where is that motivation? Or are we basically saying, "Man I can't wait to get to school where I can barely squeeze by just to be able to play my sport." Sounds lazy to me
[/quote]

Sports help build a foundation that will last a lifetime. Sports teach time management, goal setting, dedication sacrifice and so many other things that will serve you well in life.

[ncplaya]

And lets be honest.  The kids we are talking about are not the ones going to College.  Its the ones who are in high school 5-6 years or dropping out.  Not every KID has motivation at home or internal motivation.