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JERREY ROBERTS

Jason Sloat of Amherst Regional, right, shoots past Turners Falls defenders Travis Holloway, left, and Brandon Lenois earlier this month at Orr Rink at Amherst College. Amherst Regional Principal Mark Jackson said this week that funding for high school athletics is "in crisis." Among other things, Jackson said he will talk with college officials about decreasing fees for use of Orr Rink by the high school hockey team.

AMHERST - Warning that funding of athletics at Amherst Regional High School is "in crisis," Principal Mark Jackson proposed sweeping changes Tuesday, including fewer teams and games, more tax support and advertisements in the gym.

"We need to stop the bleeding and get it on a solid footing," he told the Regional School Committee.

The amount of money appropriated for sports at ARHS has been cut by more than half since 2007, while the amount raised by fees, gifts and gate receipts has doubled. In December, Jackson proposed a 10 percent increase in fees, which are already much higher than most high schools in western Massachusetts, but the School Committee agreed to only a 7 percent hike.

There are about 450 members of ARHS sports teams, 42 percent of the student body. There are 54 teams in 26 sports.

Often, athletics spending exceeds the budgeted amount and the department must be "bailed out" by the superintendent's office, Jackson said. The extra $15,000 raised by the fee hikes next year will not make up the difference, in part because students who receive free or reduced-price lunches pay much less than the standard fees, and in one sport these students make up the majority of the team, he said.

The sports teams have relied on booster clubs for equipment and other essentials, but they are experiencing "fundraising fatigue," Jackson said.

"We need to get out of thinking we can get along with faith and bake sales to sustain this far-reaching enterprise," he said.

He proposed reversing the decline in sports budget appropriations, asking that this year's $184,829 be increased by $25,000 for next year.

Jackson hinted that reducing the number of teams is not off the table.

"We need a process to get feedback as we think about how we're going to manage this," Jackson said. "We may end up in a position where sustaining 26 sports is not within our means."

He also proposed limiting the number of contests with other schools, to save money on busing and officials, and renting vans for transportation for small teams. He said he plans to talk with Amherst College officials about decreasing the fees for renting Orr Rink at Amherst College for the hockey team practices.

Jackson was tentative about recommending business sponsorship in the gym, because a previous School Committee rejected the idea of "invading the purity of the academic world," he said. But ads can be done tastefully, he said, and be from local doctors and lawyers, not corporate sponsors.

"We don't want to turn kids into billboards," he said.

Jackson also proposed eliminating a guidance counselor position and adding of two teachers in the Academic Achievement Center, a resource for struggling students.

He said the average Massachusetts high school has one guidance counselor for every 432 students, while ARHS has one for every 199 students. Moving from five to four counselors would change that ratio to one for every 246 students, he said.

In addition, ARHS has a full-time college counselor and two counselors who deal with high-risk students who have social or psychological emergencies, he said.

"This will meet the standards of fiscal responsibility and still bring a level of support in counseling that is far more than adequate," Jackson said.

The Academic Achievement Center is currently staffed with a paraprofessional, an intern and one teacher per period. Jackson said it was "A credible effort but, given the level of need, an inadequate one."

Jackson also proposed spending an extra $35,000 on clerical assistance in the Athletics Department and an extra $20,000 on summer school.

Regional School Committee member Rob Spence of Amherst called athletics "one of the most cost-effective things we do because so much is not tied to allocated funds. We should look at ways to protect what we have."

Committee member Kip Fonsh of Leverett called Jackson's presentation "incredibly sad and depressing."

The committee will review the regional budget at its next meeting Feb. 8. Representatives of the four towns in the regional district are due to meet Feb. 11.