With a former star member of Amherst Regional's football squad about to play in the Super Bowl, this is a heady week for fans of the high school's athletics programs. Beyond the buzz from Indianapolis, it is also a troubled one.

Principal Mark Jackson is warning a financial squeeze at his school is eroding his ability to sustain sports programs. He told the Regional School Committee last week that "faith and bake sales" can no longer patch holes in funding, including a 50 percent drop in money allocated for ARHS sports since 2007.

Committee members take up budget issues again Wednesday. Jackson is right to put a fine point on the depth of this problem - and wise to make it clear bold changes are needed, including the possibility of reducing the number of teams and games.

The talk in many workplace huddles these days is of retrenchment. In such times, people who care about current programs need to speak up. Jackson was right to signal he may have to thin athletic offerings down from the 54 teams that engage in 26 different sports.

Now is the time for people who have a stake in the future of school sports in Amherst to find a solution to the problem Jackson has identified.

The principal's case is pretty clear. While town funding has fallen, attempts to make up the gap - including a doubling of fees, gifts and the admission "gate" paid by fans at games - fall short. Jackson asked for a 10 percent increase in the participation fees athletes pay, starting next fall, but the regional committee granted only a 7 percent increase. While that will bring in another $15,000, it isn't enough to cover current costs.

Amherst families are already paying much more than residents of some other Valley communities.

The current unadjusted athletics fee is $231 for sports such as skiing, football, basketball, ice hockey and wrestling. It is $193 for all others, with a yearly cap per student of $522 and a family maximum of $1,100.

Compare that to fees per sport of $90 to $150 in Northampton, $100 in Easthampton and $75 in South Hadley. Holyoke, Greenfield and Springfield schools charge nothing. The fees in Amherst are more on a par with costs in eastern Massachusetts; in Brookline, the fee is $200 per sport, and $250 in Framingham.

Because many Amherst students qualify for reduced fees, based on their family incomes, bumping up costs doesn't solve the school's funding problem. The fees for athletes who qualify for reduced rates are $92 (for certain sports) and $77, with individual caps of $209 per student and family caps of $440. Still other students are eligible for rates of $46 and $41, with individual caps of $104 and family caps of $220.

Last week, Jackson also put on the table the idea of allowing sponsorship signs to be displayed inside the school gym. Committee members have rebuffed this before, but if advertising can be done tastefully, as we believe it can, it should be considered.

As officials work through the cost calculations, it may make sense to trim travel schedules and reduce transportation expenses. Because it involves other schools, that is complicated.

Over the years, the high school has built a remarkably robust athletics program that today enrolls 450 students, or 42 percent of the student body.

We think Jackson is right to toss a flag. The athletics program runs the risk of being nickled and dimed to the breaking point. It needed a reality check.

The principal has looked at the realities - and sees that the checks just aren't coming it to sustain school sports.

The regional committee isn't in a position to bail him out. Something will have to give, and people with a stake in particular sports that face cutbacks need to understand change is coming.