Baler Backers send out an SOS
– save our sports
As a teacher at San Benito High School and parent of two current
Balers, I am well aware of the stresses that a bad economy and
budget shortfalls have on the school.
Last week teachers were given empty water bottles and told we
could make them available to students to mist themselves with water
when the classrooms get too hot, since most classrooms don’t have
air conditioning. A misting system was also set up in two areas of
campus to help students get relief from the heat.
Baler Backers send out an SOS – save our sports
As a teacher at San Benito High School and parent of two current Balers, I am well aware of the stresses that a bad economy and budget shortfalls have on the school.
Last week teachers were given empty water bottles and told we could make them available to students to mist themselves with water when the classrooms get too hot, since most classrooms don’t have air conditioning. A misting system was also set up in two areas of campus to help students get relief from the heat.
Budget shortfalls have also meant fewer teachers, fewer class offerings and larger class sizes – a problem that spreads all the way down to kindergarten. There is talk that the Hollister School District could eliminate its bus service altogether next year. The high school now sends report cards home with students instead of mailing them in order to save money on postage. Recycling efforts are encouraged to reduce the expenditures on classroom supplies.
Any cutbacks that affect the classroom are discouraging, but students and teachers and administrators at all levels keep showing up ready to teach and learn with the resources they are given, hoping that better times are ahead. People are doing what they can.
Budget issues extend beyond the classroom as well, with serious consequences on the horizon for sports in particular. The nonprofit Baler Backers has worked for three years to offset budget cuts to the high school’s athletic program through fundraising events and donation drives. Its work has been admirable, with $40,000 given to the athletic department this year to help make up part of a $100,000 cut that the sports budget took. It’s still not enough, yet.
This school year alone I have purchased tri-tip fundraising tickets from the girls’ tennis team and bought a Baler cookbook that raised money for the program. Football players have sold cards that offer discounts at local businesses and every coach has done their part to offset the cost of uniforms and travel and tournament entrance fees.
So why should we care about the sports program, or any other extracurricular activity for that matter? Sports are designed for fun and exercise and are frivolous offerings, aren’t they? We don’t really need a competitive school band or a cheerleading squad or student drama productions. We should only care about the classroom, because that’s where the learning takes place.
Having been in the classroom as a teacher for six years and having been a parent for 16, I know that learning does not just take place while a student is sitting at a desk or in front of a computer.
By playing sports, my children have learned how to work hard at practice; be a part of a team; how to handle defeat and overcome obstacles; how to budget their time in order to get homework done; how to win with grace; and how to push themselves to be better. All of those skills translate to the classroom as well. All of those skills sound like the habits of a successful student.
So it does matter that as soon as next year, freshman sports and many junior varsity sports could be eliminated at San Benito High School.
Most coaches require their student-athletes to provide regular grade reports signed by teachers, which keeps many of them focused in the classroom. They know that if they don’t compete in school, they won’t get to compete in sports.
Having a sports program isn’t just about winning league and CCS championships. It’s about offering life lessons to teens who think they are just there to have fun and gain glory. When grades slip or behavior at school is unacceptable, student-athletes lose the privilege to play. Not all students need a reason to do well in school, because they already expect to go to college and push themselves toward that goal.
But among the hundreds of athletes at the high school, there are plenty who need the structure and discipline and life lessons that sports provide. Losing those teams, those opportunities, would have a negative impact in the classroom.
Local businesses, despite dealing with their own hardships because of economic woes, have helped with sponsorships and in-kind donations. Our community always steps up when called upon.
This Saturday is an example of that. Tiffany Ford is sponsoring a Drive One 4 UR School event at the high school football parking lot from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For every licensed driver 18 and above who does a short test drive and fills out a short survey, Tiffany will donate $20 to the high school’s athletic program.
Baler supporters will even provide babysitting and entertainment for people who bring their children to the event.
When the community receives an SOS – in this case, a Save Our Sports request – it usually responds. Every little bit helps. Every tri-tip ticket, every raffle ticket, every sweatshirt, every test drive adds up.
Success in the classroom needs to remain the paramount goal of schools. But let’s not forget that the structure, discipline and life lessons of athletics only add to that success. Saving Baler sports will help hundreds of students and resonate throughout the school and the community.
It’s a game we can’t afford to lose.
Adam Breen writes a blog at http://thebreenblog.blogspot.com and teaches newspaper and yearbook classes at San Benito High School. He is a reporter for The Pinnacle and former editor of the Free Lance.
