CHS Principal John Bach and Athletic Director Kiki Enderle are scheduled to give a report to the school board on the first two seasons of high school football.
By John Tredrea
A decision on whether to continue with interscholastic football at Central High School (CHS) may be made by the Hopewell Valley Regional Board of Education on Monday night.
At that meeting, CHS Principal John Bach and Athletic Director Kiki Enderle are scheduled to give a report on the first two seasons of high school football in the Valley since 1932, when the sport was dropped from long-gone Hopewell High School due to tight money and small enrollment.
A nonprofit organization of district residents, known as HIKE, paid the full cost of the 2002 and 2003 CHS football seasons. Under a contract signed with HIKE before the 2002 season, the school district would pay 25 percent of the cost of the 2004 season, with HIKE covering the balance. HIKE and the district would split the costs evenly in 2005, with the district paying all football expenses thereafter. The contract does not require the district to continue football beyond two seasons.
After Mr. Bach and Ms. Enderle present their report Monday, Superintendent Nick Lorenzetti is expected to recommend to the board whether the football program should be maintained. The final decision will be made by the board. The superintendent declined Tuesday to predict what that recommendation might be, saying he would wait to hear the report from Mr. Bach and Ms. Enderle.
The board could vote on the superintendent’s recommendation at Monday’s meeting, or at a subsequent meeting. Keeping football next year would entail creation of a varsity team. There already are freshman and junior varsity teams. Having three football units has been standard policy at high schools throughout the country for decades.
If the board decides to keep football at the high school, "We’ll have to address the issue of where the varsity team is going to play," Superintendent Lorenzetti said Tuesday.
The freshman and junior varsity teams have practiced and played games at the Pop Warner fields, off Scotch Road near the Hopewell Township municipal complex. The teams take buses from Central High School to the Pop Warner fields, which officials say are not big enough to host a varsity in addition to the two high school teams already there.