The Pottsville Area teachers union says some major sports programs are just part of the cuts they’re expecting as the new school term begins in August.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, the Pottsville Area Education Association says, in addition to teacher and stuff cuts, some sports will be eliminated. And further, some levels of sports teams will also get axed in the 2020-21 term.
Sports Programs Cut at Pottsville Area School District
Here are the sports and programs the Pottsville Area Superintendent Jeffrey Zwiebel and the district’s school board propose:
- All Junior High sports
- Boys Tennis
- Girls Tennis
- High School Golf
- Freshman Boys’ Basketball
- Freshman Football
These are proposed cuts. No final determinations have been made. But we expect to hear about these cuts at the next meeting of Pottsville Area school directors on Tuesday, May 12.
It’s difficult to say why these programs are getting cut over others. Equally difficult to determine is if the school cutting these programs is due to the expected fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and the impact it likely will have on public school budgets in the future.
Considering Pottsville Area’s known and documented financial irresponsibility, it’s more likely these cuts are the result of poor money management prior to the pandemic response.
As difficult as these eliminations may be for some to accept, you can probably expect a lot more when the school, and others in the area, face the reality of a much smaller budget in the upcoming school term.
Attend the Next Pottsville Area School Board Meeting
You can attend the next scheduled meeting of Pottsville Area school directors. Like in April, this meeting is being held on the Zoom video conference platform. In April, the meeting was simulcast on the district’s Facebook page. There’s no word on whether that will happen next week or not.
However, in order to submit comments or questions (that likely won’t get answered) that get read during the meeting, you should watch and participate through the Zoom platform.
The meeting starts at 7 p.m. on May 12. In order to watch on Zoom, follow this link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ovpeQKCQQha3b0EFq_28sA.
That URL allows you to register for the meeting. When you register, you get an email that contains the link to connect to the meeting. Use the Q&A feature to submit a question via Zoom.
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