School district leaders say athletics will be on the chopping block next year, but haven’t yet decided which sports are up for elimination.
The district will receive $23.9 million for next year, half a million dollars more than last year.
However, the increase is less than half what the district asked for in the recent budgeting process, but is better than the flat-funded budget the district received last year, Superintendent Carol Merlone said at a school board meeting Wednesday.
Part of the delay in establishing the sports cuts comes from the vacancy in the athletic director position.
The vacancy, posted on the Ansonia Public Schools website with an application due date of June 2, has generated substantial interest from applicants both nearby and far-flung, Merlone said.
Once a new athletic director is hired, he or she will be given time to meet with and discuss reductions with coaches, School Board Chairman John Lawlor said.
“It’s integral that the person be on board before we make those cuts,” he said. “Nothing has been named at this point, but we have identified a dollar amount to be taken out of the operational budget. In meantime, we will be working with the new athletic director, once that person is hired, as well as coaches to determine where best to slot those reductions.”
While cuts to athletics are coming, some good news about athletics came out of the school budget meeting Wednesday: high school sports are bringing in substantial amounts of money from their $3 gate receipts, members announced. Gate receipts are going directly to sports programs and means the district can cut about $30,000 from the athletic department with no ill effects on sports programs, they said.
Besides athletics, academics will also be affected by the new school budget, Merlone and Lawlor said.
Three tutors, a custodian and four classroom aides will be cut. Three teachers currently on special assignment will be reassigned to classrooms. An assistant principal who currently oversees alternative education at Ansonia High School will be shared with Ansonia Middle School next year.
Outside of positions, Merlone said each facility has been asked to cut its budget request in half.
“We have to do the best we can, but we need to keep teachers in front of students,” she said.
