The Fairfax County School Board early today ordered principalsto eliminate a 25 percent cut in school sports competitions thatroused vigorous protests from parents and students.
After about 100 parents and boosters waited hours for thedecision, the board voted unanimously to rescind its budget decisionthat had sent assistant activity directors back to the classroominstead of using free periods to manage activities, includingsports.
The board voted to raise the money needed to restore the periodsby increasing fees for adults who use gymnasiums, playing fields andother school facilities for recreational purposes.
The issue had prompted an outcry after principals in theNorthern Region Council of the Virginia High School League reducedthe number of games and matches.
G. Raymond Watson, principal at Annandale High School andchairman of the council, has said that if the assistant activitiesdirectors got the free periods back, the council would restore thesports schedule.
Several board members expressed anger at the cut the councilmade, saying in some cases that the principals, who make up thecouncil, were undercutting budget decisions made by the board.
'The principals made the decision' to cut the sports, saidSchool Board member Gary A. Reese (Sully). 'You are our employees.If you don't restore that schedule, you will learn it in the mostcertain terms.'
'I want to send a clear message to principals {that} we expectthem to follow decisions of the board,' said School Board memberKristen J. Amundson (Mount Vernon).
Board members said they were also angry that the principals hadacted without consulting the board or the public. Some said theywere upset when they found that assistants were not teaching coursesas the board thought they should.
The sports cuts prompted a storm of protest that some officialssaid showed that residents are not fully aware of the harsh fiscalrealities.
As hundreds of parents, students and coaches this week protestedthe cuts to the sports program, others called School Board membersand told them that if they could find the money to restore assistantactivity director positions, they should be able to find funds torestore other positions in instructional programs.
Board Chairman Kohann H. Whitney (Centreville), who made themotion to restore the free periods, said, 'The outcry over this isso much more than the outcry over academic programs, and it breaksmy heart.'
Whitney said the county needed to feel the effect of cuts or theboard faces the danger of less funding from the Board of Supervisorsnext year.
Some county officials have gotten complaints from iratetaxpayers who said they will refuse to pay to use schoolfacilities.
Some board members warned that the positions of assistantactivities directors could be threatened again in the 1993-94 schoolyear, when the board faces a budget shortfall of more than $60million.
And some have questioned the need for assistant activitiesdirectors when enrollment in some high schools is lower than it waswhen the positions were created. Some also have questioned thebenefit in the proliferation of clubs and sports in schools.
In other action last night, the board voted 8 to 1 with twomembers absent to allow schools to add an optional lesson about AIDSto their family life education classes. The Face to Face programuses speakers who are HIV-positive to tell classes how theycontracted the virus. The program will be used at the discretion ofprincipals, and parents will be allowed to keep their children outof the lessons.@Slug: C01FAI
