Westfield BOE Plans to Increase Athletics Budget By $42,000

The district athletic budget will increase by about $42,000 next school year, according to a portion of the tentative budget presented at Tuesday night’s meeting.

An estimated $15,510 of the projected $42,220 total stems from an increase in coaching salaries. The proposed budget allots a total of $1,168,874 in 2012-2013, which equals 1.2 percent of the total district budget.

Other areas of the athletics budget will also receive an increase in spending. The district will spend $8,732 more on replacing equipment, $5,000 more on athletics transportation and about $4,300 on reconditioning of equipment. An additional $3,000 will be spent on maintenance of the district’s 11 athletic fields, which the Board said are used nearly every day by teams, physical education classes and outside organizations.

The Board must finalize its budget by March 27 before submitting it to the county for approval.

According to Tuesday night’s presentation, the athletic program includes 73 teams in 31 sports. A total of 1,693 students participate in the athletic program, which represents 40 percent of the student population. 

The four football teams, which consist of a total of 103 athletes, require eight total coaches. Boys track, consisting of 166 athletes, has five coaches. Girls track (113 athletes) has four. The district also employs four coaches for each of the following sports: boys soccer, girls soccer, baseball, softball, boys lacrosse and girls lacrosse.

The Board also spent a portion of Tuesday night’s meeting highlighting a number of achievements has made to ensure continued success throughout a period of growing enrollment. One of those was the addition of a girls’ golf team, which will include eight athletes and one coach.

Other notable changes made at the high school included the installation of a new computer lab; the purchase of new lockers and new tables and chairs for the cafeteria; hiring a demographer; and the addition of equipment to the fitness room. The Board also said it had reviewed special education support models, collaborated with the town traffic engineer to address safer and more effective parking, and spoke to parents and the community about additional fine arts opportunities.

The Board’s presentation also reflected on the initiatives taken to further its goal of establishing model standards for respect and responsibility at all school levels. These included establishing school safety teams; approving and disseminating a revised Code of Conduct to students, parents and staff; and providing online resources and holding meetings for parents on bullying prevention. 

The Board will continue its budget discussion Tuesday, March 20 at 8 p.m. at the Board of Education building.