Middle school sports will be eliminated and no C-teams at high school after recent failure of school levy
Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com
Woodland Public Schools sports administrators and coaches are trying to stay positive, looking for new ways to serve athletes and their families after the recent levy failed by seven votes.
Middle school sports will be eliminated, said Paul Huddleston, athletic director at Woodland High School. C-team sports at the high school will be cut. Coaching staffs on team sports will be limited. And there will be no more transportation for athletes to get to and from contests.
“We’re all licking our wounds right now. We’re a little bit in shock,” Huddleston said.
Huddleston said, however, that he knew the district was not issuing empty threats when it pointed out all that would be lost if the levy failed.
(Note: The district is suffering from more than just cuts to the athletic department. The failed levy will affect students, families, and school employees across the board. This story deals with athletics.)
Huddleston said the district did not request a recount after the levy failed by so few votes. That is costly, too, and there was no guarantee that a recount would go in the district’s way.
Woodland Public Schools serves two counties. The voters from Clark County voted yes to the levy 279-243 in a special election on April 25. Voters from Cowlitz County voted no 1,800 to 1,757. Add them together, and it was 2,043 to 2,036 against the levy.
There is no provision in the law where a recount of the results of a local measure is mandated, according to Greg Kimsey, Clark County auditor. A recount can be requested, but no request was received in regard to the recent levy for Woodland Public Schools, he added.
Huddleston said he has been proud of the Woodland sports model, where high school and middle school coaches work together to provide athletes structure and familiarity with Woodland’s core values. Athletes who progress from middle school to high school already know the expectations from the high school programs.
“It’s a key component for us building programs,” Huddleston said. “It’s part of our system. How do we fill that void and stay competitive? How do we bridge the gap with that middle school piece being gone?”
Those are some of the questions, and Huddleston is optimistic that Woodland will find the right answers because he has already seen coaches, and community members, step up with ideas.
“I’ve been so impressed,” Huddleston said.
The top-tier athletes will still have their clubs, but Woodland will also look for ways to keep the rest of the athletes as part of the athletic community. Clinics might be held. Perhaps intramural sports at the middle school will help fill the void. Other sports associations, such as Clark County Youth Football, could help, too.
“All kinds of community members are rallying, trying to help. I’ve had a ton of people reaching out,” Huddleston said. “Our coaches are trying to find a way.”
Huddleston said there won’t be traditional school sports at middle school, but there will be opportunities for athletes to be coached.
Huddleston also said it is key that all involved in the athletic department give the students reason to stay positive.
Don’t use the failed levy as a crutch, Huddleston warned.
“You can take it personally. You can be pissed off. But it’s the kids who are suffering,” Huddleston said. “Everything is about the kids, so we need to find a way to make it happen for the kids. It won’t be as good as having school sports, and it will be a lot more work, but we’ll make the best of the situation. That’s just what we are going to do.”
Also read:
- Clark County Today Sports Podcast, May 10, 2024: Athletic administrators discuss the new high school football playoffsThe sports gang is back and we discuss the new playoff format for most classifications in Washington high school football, and we discuss odd rules in sports that can cause an athlete to be disqualified, a shout out to Brooklynn Haywood, and pro sports talk, too.
- Ridgefield Raptors getting ready for opening day late this monthThe general manager of the Ridgefield Raptors is trying to make the fan experience even better at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex as more and more fans continue to come to West Coast League baseball in Clark County.
- Columbia River spring Chinook fishery above Bonneville Dam to close April 30With the fishery expected to have already met its allowable catch, recreational spring Chinook fishing on the Columbia River mainstem from Bonneville Dam to the Oregon/Washington border will close beginning Tuesday.
- Volcanoes return home Saturday, April 27, in The Basketball LeagueThe Vancouver Volcanoes look to improve to 4-0 against the Great Falls Electric this season, with a home game Saturday, April 27, at Hudson’s Bay High School.
- Clark County Today Sports Podcast, April 25, 2024: Despite rumors, a transfer portal in Washington high school sports is not in the worksThe sports gang is back and we go into a deep discussion on a transfer portal in high school sports and how it is not — repeat not — the plan of the WIAA to have a transfer portal, plus we talk Skyview softball, Union soccer, a coaching change, and an Honor Game.
THIS is such BULL! Sure! Take away
Arts, Music and Sports! They very things GOOD for kids! Whats worse is they make it all about $$$$$ ! What a crock! Anything to get us parents RILED UP some more!
DISGUSTING!
News Flash!!!
High Schools and Middle Schools will NOT collapse if they don’t have sports. Trust me, they really won’t.
Without sports, reading and writing and arithmetic and science and social studies will all continue to be taught. And students will all continue to be tested in these areas, just as they are now.
You remember test-scores, right? The very scores that we all complain about when the conversation is about the quality of schools and how much bang-for-our-buck are we really getting?
Remember, test-scores do not include basketball or football or track or other sports.
In times of budgetary cutbacks, it is proper to first eliminate the extraneous, non-critical components… such as sports.