The Streetsboro Board of Education has resolved the uncertainty of the fate of junior varsity sports at Streetsboro High School. The Board voted to reinstate all junior varsity sports at the high school level at its meeting on July 9.
“I think it is very exciting for our students and families to have the opportunity to participate in junior varsity sports so from that lens it is very significant,” Superintendent Cynthia Deevers told The Weekly Villager on July 29. “Certainly, it comes with a cost and that is something that we are working through at the district level.”
The Board had previously voted to suspend junior varsity sports at the high school level after failing to pass an operating levy in May. It had already voted to cut middle school athletic programs and club activities but had to make further cuts after the operating levy failed.
As The Villager previously reported, the Board recently voted to restore middle school athletics and club activities at its June meeting but had left things unresolved about the status of junior varsity sports at the high school level.
According to Deevers, the Board found new money to for its general fund after receiving an additional $453,161.00 from the Portage County Auditor’s Office. Deevers said that the surplus was remaining money from the Auditor’s real estate appraisal fund, which is funded for with tax money and every six-to-eight years, the County divides up the remaining funds with the other political subdivisions and re-distributes the money as necessary.
With the new money, Deevers said that the Board could reinstate all junior varsity sports across the high school level and make sure it fully staffed all programs. By restoring junior varsity sports, Deevers said that the Board voted to reinstate Athletic Director Randy Tevepaugh to a full-time position, as they projected his role to be reduced to part-time last winter.
“I think the Board recognized that essentially with all of our athletic sports and events and teams, coaches, all of that coming back at a full-time capacity, having a part-time athletic director really would not be in the best interest of the programs and the student experience,” Deevers acknowledged.
She said that not having junior varsity sports across an entire school year at Streetsboro High School was not an ideal scenario.
“It is just an important part of development for kids,” she said. “This is an opportunity to experience activities, athletics, clubs and whatever we are discussing. It is an experience that is either going to lead into a lifetime or maybe a future career. Maybe it will be something as an avenue that they use as an adult to find enjoyment and joy in life.”
Deevers noted that the timing could not have been more perfect for the Board to receive new funds from the Portage County Auditor’s Office.
“On a student level, it was really a good thing that it came through when it did because it’s allowing the Board to make that decision to bring things back,” she added. “Unfortunately, it is a not a long-term solution.”
Deevers said that although the new money allows the Board to restore junior varsity sports programs for the time being, she cautioned that the Board’s financial income forecast over the next several years projects to be stagnant.
“We get a fixed sum that comes in each year based on past levies and what the State produces and that does not account for the rising costs of fuel and electric and insurance and things that we offer for a staff because we are teaching kids,” she said. “We have to continue to be thoughtful and creative in what we are doing, what services we are offering and outside opportunities for growth.”
Deevers said that there are no immediate plans for the Board to suspend athletic programs for the following school year, but ensuring all athletic programs would remain intact for the foreseeable future was no guarantee.
She noted that the Board had discussed putting another operating levy proposal on the ballot in November to bring new money into the District but said that nothing that had been decided yet.
“The Board continued to discuss new money options, that could be a new money property tax or a new money income tax. Those are really the only two options for school districts in Ohio to get funds and new money funds,” she said.
