Panel will mull opponents for TPS teams
The Toledo Board of Education Tuesday night appointed a special committee to research Toledo Public Schools' future sports schedule since the announced exodus of seven teams from the nine-decades-old City League.
The league now has only TPS schools and will need to find comparable competition for its football and basketball programs. The gate proceeds from those programs raise enough to pay for all other sports, school officials said.
"I get the impression today that TPS is taking a wait-and-see attitude," said board member Jack Ford, who will lead the new committee. "I, for one, think we need to get more aggressive."
The committee would report back to the full board with a report and maybe some recommendations.
New Superintendent Jerome Pecko also announced Tuesday night the city of Toledo would pick up the expense for the rest of the calendar year for 11 school resource officers - police officers stationed at public schools.
The board cut the officers from the budget in June for a $382,000 savings after a levy failed and the district needed to close a $39 million budget hole.
To close that budget hole, the board also approved a slew of other cuts, including increasing the walking zones to two miles. That move has left some children without a reliable and safe ride to school, several parents complained Tuesday night.
Christine Stokes said her 6-year-old son might have to walk to school if her car breaks down.
"The problem is you can't trust everyone in a car pool, they can be drunk or a pedophile," said Ms. Stokes. "We need those buses."
Mr. Pecko said this week he might like to use the federal education money approved by Congress last week to rehire teachers and other school employees to bring back some drivers to help restore K-8 bus service.
School districts don't yet know how much money they will receive and school officials will have to debate how to spend it.
Ohio's share of the $10 billion in federal money is estimated at about $361 million.
The state hasn't decided yet how to dole out the money to Ohio's 614 districts.
The seven exiting members of the City League will compete in the newly minted Three Rivers Athletic Conference, starting in 2011-12.
They are Central Catholic, Clay, Notre Dame, St. Francis de Sales, St. John's Jesuit, St. Ursula, and Whitmer. They will be joined by three current members of the disbanding Greater Buckeye Conference - Findlay, Fremont Ross, and Lima Senior. Ross had been set to join the City League in 2011-12.
Notre Dame and St. Ursula, both all-girls academies, will serve as a complement to all-boys schools St. Francis and St. John's in giving the TRAC eight teams in all boys and girls sports.
Contact Christopher D. Kirkpatrick at:
ckirkpatrick@theblade.com
or 419-724-6134.