Big cuts coming at Utica schools

Utica High basketball standout Andrew Thompson benefited greatly from the structure of athletics at Eppler Junior High, which his mother said helped him stay in school growing up.

"He wasn't the type of kid that was going to willingly go to school," said Kim Thompson of Shelby Township. "But if it meant that he could play basketball, that's what it would take to get him there."

Parents with preteens at Utica Community Schools will no longer have the same opportunity. The district's Board of Education voted 6-1 Monday to adopt a budget that will cut seventh- and eighth-grade athletics at the seven junior high schools.

The district, the second-largest in the state with about 30,000 students, will also eliminate 125 positions from teaching support to administrative jobs to help make up a $30 million shortfall.

"We have an economic reality, and we are working to look at every area where we can reduce costs and protect our core academic programming," said Tim McAvoy, director of school-community relations for the district.

The initial athletic cuts will do away with winter and spring sports for the 2011-12 school year and save about $300,000. Some students have registered for fall sports in 2011, but those activities will be cut in 2012-13, McAvoy said.

More than 40 people showed their support of the athletic programs at Monday's meeting. Kim Thompson, who has had four children in the district, said the parents discussed possible fundraisers to help keep junior high athletic programs.

She said she would also be willing to pay more than she pays — $75 for one sport and $65 for each additional sport — for her 13-year-old daughter, Alivia, to participate in cheerleading and track and field.

The district's fees are less than some pay-for-play junior high programs in the tri-county area. Lake Orion Community Schools and Walled Lake Consolidated Schools charge $200 per year, which could be for just one sport.

Troy School District also charges $75 per sport, but Athletic Director Mike Jolly said the district has never proposed cutting junior high sports — though he's sure it's been discussed as an option.

Over the past six years, Utica Community Schools has made an estimated $100 million in cuts, such as closing four elementary schools and eliminating 600 positions, McAvoy said.

Parent from Utica Community Schools, Dr. Christine Johns-Haines ...

Gee, whiz.  Can’t the Crapola-Journal get anything right?  Their education reporter, Toni Baloney, was/still is(?) in Michigan culling some feel-good stories about JCPS superintendent candidate, Dr. Christine Johns-Haines, while we’re left to Google this nice lady and find the truth for ourselves.

Looks like investigative journalism is dead.  Or maybe the C-J and the Jefferson County Board of Education are happy to just play patty-cake and hope nobody is paying attention to what’s really happening in Dr. Johns’ school district, Utica Community Schools.

This morning, I received a super-terrific gift in the comments section for the June 6th post, “Utica Community Schools: A five-year-old crunched the budget numbers and somebody’s dog ate Dr. Christine Johns-Haines very recent three-year contract extension”