WW-P board blasted for school club budget cuts

Administration responds to accusations that while clubs are losing funding, the athletics budget was increased.

By: Gwen McNamara
   School may be out for the summer, but that doesn’t mean smooth sailing for the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional Board of Education or district administrators.
   On Tuesday, more than 75 parents, students and teachers came to the school board’s meeting at Community Middle School in Plainsboro to protest cuts in funding for school clubs.
   As part of the district’s budget for the 2003-2004 school year, which was approved by voters in April, stipends for about 30 club advisers at both of the district’s two high schools were eliminated, as were positions for some assistant club advisers.
   Parents, students and teachers contend without assistance, the quality of affected clubs will decline and without pay, it will be nearly impossible to find advisers for the clubs — which, in turn, will cause many of the clubs to disband.
   "Students can’t meet without an adviser and volunteers are hard to come by," said Jeffrey Sun, who will be a senior at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North in the fall. "Our school district is a special one; most don’t offer the array of clubs we do. I am greatly angered by this situation."
   Others pointed out it is unfair that while the clubs are losing funding, the athletics budget for the upcoming year has increased.
   "Let’s look at what’s being cut," said Preeti Bhattacharji, a student at High School South who lives in West Windsor. "(Stipends for) the South Asian Student Association, which promotes diversity, the Red Cross Club, which advocates volunteerism, and the Junior Statesmen of America, which gets students involved politically.
   "Now lets look at what’s not being cut — sports, sports, sports," she continued. "This school district claims to promote academic excellence, but why are sports being held higher than clubs?"
   According to Larry Shanok, assistant superintendent of finance and support services, $1.45 million is budgeted for athletics for the upcoming school year — a 14-percent increase over the $1.27 million budgeted for the 2002-2003 school year.
   Non-athletic co-curricular activities, which include clubs and organizations such as marching band, will get $575,000 in the upcoming year — $260,000 less then the $835,000 provided this past year.
   But according to the high school principals, it’s not fair to look at the issue as simply clubs versus athletics.
   "We were given a tight budget target and cuts went across the entire depth of our school," said Michael Zapicchi, principal at High School North. "Cuts were made in athletics, supplies and even staff. We tried to make cuts that would not too adversely affect the classroom."
   "This year also marked the first time the athletic budget was under the control of the athletic director and not rolled into the high school’s budget," added High School South Principal Charles Rudnick. "We don’t have control of those funds anymore."
   He added that the decision to cut assistant positions and stipends for some clubs did not come easily.
   "Essentially to stay within our budget target, we — both myself and Principal Zapicchi — had to make some tough decisions," he said. "We met with our site-based councils and they made recommendations on how to proceed."
   The site-based councils are advisory bodies for the two schools made up of students, teachers, parents and administrators.
   To make sure the clubs do not simply fall by the wayside, both principals say they are trying to come up with creative solutions for continued operations.
   "What I’ve tried to do is to roll a lot of the clubs affected under the umbrella of one adviser," Mr. Rudnick said.
   For instance, cultural clubs such as the African American Club, Hispanic Club and South Asian Student Association would all work under the umbrella of human relations, he said.
   "There still will be clubs, with their own identities, only now they will be advised by one person," he said.
   Similarly, Mr. Zapicchi says he is looking for ways the clubs can become more student-driven.
   "We are open to any and all suggestions, " he said.
   The school board encouraged concerned parties to get in touch with the principals and share their ideas about possible fund raising or fees to pay for club advisers.
   Outgoing superintendent John Fitzsimons also said he would look into the possibility of finding money within the budget to try to reinstate some stipends.
   "I’ve only got four days left," he said. "But I’ll meet with the principals and administrators to see what we can do. I can’t make any promises."
   A complete list of affected clubs and positions is available at the principal’s office at the two high schools.