The School Board received public comment from three county residents, all of whom pushed for the school system to pledge money toward sports programs.
Angela Hayes, wife of football coach John Hayes, questioned why the baseball field appears to be well taken care of while the softball and football fields are not, saying flooding issues are prominent in both.
Hayes wrote that the football program, which returned this season after a year’s hiatus, is in dire need of money, including updates to outdated equipment. She reckoned that the updates would cost around $15,000.
Other letters touched on similar points, saying that the football program needs to be rebuilt even though finances have suffered under quarantine.
With no fall sports and limited fans allowed in during the shortened winter season, there has been no gate receipts to pump funds into athletics.
Tonya and George Edwards wrote that without new helmets, the football team won’t get to play next season. Funds that had been earmarked for football were dispersed to other programs last season, when the high school didn’t field a team, they wrote, adding that fundraisers haven’t been successful so far.
Superintendent Scott Meade said the schools’ budget generally pays for coaches and facilities with other items handled through athletic and activities funds. He said at the beginning of the school year, the athletic fund at the high school had around $62,000 available; however, high school Principal Tyler Eastep said that’s now down to the $30,000 range. Meade noted that the varsity football team had $891 in its own account.
School Board Chair Gerry Schepers pointed out that especially with athletics expenditures are way over revenues. With no gate money or concession funds coming in, the problem is exacerbated. Helmets, he said, have to be inspected and re-certified every two years. Eastep said that the last group of 12 helmets cost $600 to be reconditioned. A whole team, he said, would run roughly $1,300.
Hayes said as she understands it, the helmets cannot be reconditioned again, though they can be used through the remainder of the current season. Buying the cheapest new helmets that meet standards costs $350 to $400 each, she told the board.
Eastep said the program has to pay out around $300 each home game just to supply referees, pointing out that the basketball team held fundraisers and applied for grant money to buy new jerseys this year.
Hayes said the football team, too, raised money for new uniforms and has other things in the works but not for the helmets. She said that in other parts of the state, football is a school’s biggest money-maker but that doesn’t seem to apply to Bland, where she said basketball seems to be the biggest money-maker.
Aside from field draining issues and the need for new helmets, vice chair Duane Bailey noted that other costs are coming. Two years ago, he said, the board put off re-doing bleachers, and they will need to be done soon. Just the bleachers, he said, will cost more than $100,000.
