The Fairfax County School Board hosts its first hearing tonightto allow the public to air concerns over its proposed 2010 budget,which could include cuts of indoor track and gymnastics by the timethe final document is adopted in May.
The revised $2.2 million budget proposal, released bySuperintendent Jack D. Dale on Jan. 8, listed only gymnastics amongthe cuts, but Bill Curran, the county's director of athletics,acknowledged recently that indoor track is 'not out of the woods.'
In November, when three tiers of budget cuts were initially putup for consideration, indoor track was cut only in the most severetier -- and not in the newest proposal. However, an expected $170million shortfall stemming from a steep decline in housing pricesand anticipated tax revenue, coupled with a potential rise inenrollment, could place both sports in jeopardy by the time thefinal document is submitted.
Between 125 and 200 gymnasts and nearly 2,800 indoor trackathletes compete in Fairfax County.
Both sports will have supporters speak in their defense at the 6p.m. hearing at Luther Jackson Middle School in Falls Church.
'We still have four months to go,' Curran said. 'We still haveuntil May and who knows what can happen until then. I think it'simportant that those groups still get heard.'
At 6 a.m. on Jan. 9 the county opened a portal on its Web site atwww.FCPS.edu, where concerned citizens could register for one of 120available three-minute time slots at today's public hearing. Theslots filled in less than two hours, forcing the county to schedulea second hearing for Tuesday.
'Our view is, we need to stay vigilant and focused and keep it inthe front of people's minds,' said Dan Woolley, the president ofFriends of Indoor Track who will speak next week.
Woolley started a 'Save Indoor Track' initiative as a reaction toDale's November budget proposal.
Paul Regnier, a spokesman for Dale, said that if the county'sBoard of Supervisors does not provide additional aid in absorbing5,000 new students, and the state does not provide additionalfinancial aid, then indoor track could be cut before the schoolboard adopts its budget in May.
'If we have to swallow the addition of 5,000 students, plusreduction of state aid, then, under those circumstances, there wouldbe pretty drastic cuts and that would include indoor track,' Regniersaid.
Woolley, a 53-year-old computer company executive and USA Trackand Field national official, has recruited a diverse crop ofspeakers for tonight's hearing, including a police officer,physician, nutritionist and gang task force member, all willing tovouch for the sport's importance.
Since November, Woolley has been the driving force behind an e-mail campaign that has flooded the inboxes of county officials. Thegroup has also used other Internet tools, including Facebook, tomobilize.
Curran said that he received approximately 300 e-mails about theproposed budget cuts.
Woolley will be part of a show of support at today's meeting thatincludes parents, coaches, athletes and others clad in red T-shirtswith 'Save Indoor Track' printed across the front.
'We need to keep it short, keep it sweet,' Woolley said. 'Keep itto the point. Don't save the best for last. Focus on the value itbrings to you, the value it brings to the community.'
It is unclear how many of today's speakers will speak on behalfof gymnastics, but supporters of the sport have recently organizedan e-mail campaign, Facebook page and online petition.
W.T. Woodson gymnastics coach Mike Cooper, a 25-year coachingveteran of gymnastics in Northern Virginia, said he will speak atthe second hearing on Tuesday.
According to a bulleted list of facts Cooper shared with ThePost, he is expected to challenge the school board's anticipatedcuts as they relate to Title IX, the 1972 law mandating genderequity at federally funded institutions.
Cooper will also dispute the county's recent assertions thatgymnastics is a dying sport among high school girls, claiming thatthere are 21 programs among 25 high schools, 17 full programs, withtwo new programs forming in the last two seasons.
According to Curran, 125 gymnasts compete in Fairfax County'sgymnastics programs; supporters of the sport say the figure iscloser to 200. Curran also said that the sport has suffered at thehigh school level because of the popularity of club gymnastics.
'This was coming on its own,' Curran said, 'because of thecontinued decline of interest [in gymnastics] at the scholasticlevel because it's so popular at the community level.'
