Sports on chopping block? Amherst athletic fund deficit raises tough choices

The Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools’ athletics program are running a deficit this fiscal year, which is leading to a discussion of how to close the gap. One possibility is the elimination of some programs.

The Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools’ athletics program are running a deficit this fiscal year, which is leading to a discussion of how to close the gap. One possibility is the elimination of some programs. gazette file photo

E. XIOMARA HERMAN

E. XIOMARA HERMAN

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Staff Writer

Published: 01-17-2025 4:16 PM

AMHERST — A deficit in the revolving fund that covers costs associated with the Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools’ athletics program could be addressed by eliminating certain sports, according to school leaders, even as the Regional School Committee is likely to be asked to make a $175,000 transfer to the account before the end of June.

While the school board is expected to have a formal discussion about how to counter the deficit in the revolving fund, Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman said at Tuesday’s meeting that the current $100,000 deficit is expected to grow.

The administration team is working to identify the best approach to address athletics, she said, so the district is not reducing sports and ensures students have equitable access to athletics, including those unable to pay fees. Creative solutions are being sought to address the financial realities, Herman said.

The high school currently offers 18 sports.

The possibility that some students may be told they can’t play a certain sport pulls at her heartstrings, Herman said, but, “We’re going to end up in a place where we might just have to even reduce the number of sports, because we aren’t even able to afford it.”

Herman said she recognizes that athletics are part of the reason some students come to school, and that taking away such opportunities could affect their motivation to complete their studies.

“But we may not be able to sustain all the athletics for the rest of the year, and that’s a very hard conversation,” Herman said.

In an email following the meeting, Herman said the district is committed to the development of the whole child.

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“Athletics is not merely extracurricular; it is an integral avenue to academic achievement, fostering discipline, teamwork, and resilience in many of our students,” Herman said. “For some, it is the very catalyst that drives their academic and personal success.”

Currently, various costs associated with athletics, including salaries and transportation, are covered through family fees and gate receipts, which have been steadily declining, and would need to average $250,000 annually to be sustainable. The fees include standard rates and lower rates for those who qualify for reduced or free lunches. The rates also depend on whether a student is on a high school or middle school team, and there are caps in place for both families and individual students.

At the high school, the most expensive sports are ice hockey and alpine skiing, with the full standard fee being $385, and those on reduced lunch paying $153 and those on free lunch assessed $76.

Football, basketball, golf and Nordic skiing are in the next tier, with the full standard cost at $275, while remaining sports, including softball, baseball, swimming and diving, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, tennis, track and cross country, and ultimate, have the lowest fees, at $231 for the full standard fee.

The district’s family cap is set at $1,155 for fees, meaning that families with multiple students won’t pay more than that, with $460 and $240 fees for those eligible for reduced and free lunch, respectively, while the individual student cap is set at $577.50, with $230 and $120, for reduced and free lunch students, respectively.

The Regional School Committee policy adopted in 2006 outlines the process for collecting fees: “To assist in the support of this program, each student participating in a sport will be assessed a fee to offset the costs in that sport. The assessment schedule will be approved by the School Committee before implementation. Funds collected as a result of this assessment will be deposited in the Athletic Revolving Fund.”

To close out the fiscal year 2025 budget and cover the deficit, athletics will have to turn to appropriations, Herman said.

The deficit was recently discovered by interim Finance Director Shannon Bernacchia, who told the Regional School Committee that the revolving fund has slowly been bringing in less money over time. At the same time, expenses are increasing, such as transportation, membership dues and facility rentals.

“Historically, we relied on our district drivers for athletics transportation, a cost-effective solution,” Herman said. “However, with the flipped schedule now in place, contracting transportation services has become necessary, further straining our budget.”

Herman said the process of reviewing all budgets associated with the schools started with a conversation with Athletic Director Victoria Dawson, determining that sports teams have not been part of the budgeting process. Then, with Bernacchia, a line-by-line analysis was done for various accounts.

The district is having issues collecting fees for the revolving fund, and athletic fees have not increased in at least five years. Herman said there needs to be a look at the costs per sport and per player.

“It is a very daunting and difficult conversation,” Herman said.

Amherst representative Irv Rhodes said the concept of paying for athletics through a revolving fund shocks him, adding that athletics should instead be part of the regular budgeting process for the schools.

“Athletics cannot be thought of, in my mind, as an afterthought,” Rhodes said. “It’s a part of our schools.”

Most students, Rhodes said, likely don’t think of athletics as an extra, but rather as integral to their academic lives. “Athletics are a very critical part of education,” Rhodes said.

Taking a different view was Tilman Wolf, Leverett’s representative, who said he’s not sure the school budget should be subsidizing athletics, even if that is not a popular opinion.

“I disagree with almost everything Irv said about athletics and being an integral part of education,” Wolf said.

Pelham representative William Sherr said there may be avenues to better fund athletics through memorandums of agreement for use of district facilities, while other members suggested some involvement of the Hurricane Boosters.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.