Bowsher speaks out on cuts to JV soccer

Supporters of the Bowsher junior varsity soccer team spoke out at Tuesday's Board of Education meeting against the scheduled elimination of the program.

Toledo Public Schools cut $2 million from its supplemental budget this year, following a fact-finder's report that served as the basis for a new agreement with the district's teachers' union.

As part of the cuts, district officials plan to eliminate junior varsity soccer districtwide, a move that would strike Bowsher particularly hard, as other schools either have no program or have lower participation rates.

Both parents and students from Bowsher implored board members not to cut the program, arguing its benefits as a sports program and as a draw for the school district.

Bowsher junior class president Mara Momenee, who is also a captain of the girls' varsity soccer team, said she chose Bowsher over Central Catholic High School because of its soccer team.

"I am one student TPS has kept because of this program," she said.

Bowsher soccer booster members said they realize the district's tight fiscal position, but argued that eroding the soccer program would cut little from the budget while potentially causing much larger losses in state aid because of reduced enrollment.

Junior varsity soccer was actually scheduled to end this school year, but a delay in finalizing supplemental contracts gave the Bowsher team a year's reprieve. Although funding is not scheduled for next year, the program's demise is not guaranteed.

Board president Bob Vasquez and vice president Lisa Sobecki have called for an ad hoc committee to consider the district's athletic programs. That committee should formulate long-term direction for athletics and determine priorities for funding during a time of ever-shrinking funds.

"Hopefully, that committee will take a look at the cost of sports," said Jim Gault, the district's chief academic officer, "and the value it has in the district and its community support."