Equestrians probably won’t be recognized as Hillsborough High’s next school sport.
But history research won some support as a middle school club. If so, should its advisers be paid a stipend — when 55 clubs at the high school have teachers volunteering to mentor a spectrum of activities?
School board member Judith Haas said Monday night that the education committee had heard high school administrators explain how sports earn approval as school-sponsored.
The main criteria, she said, is being recognized by the N.J. State Interscholastic Athletic Association, the Skyland Conference or in a Somerset County championship. None of those things apply to equestrian sports, she said.
There are other sports — rugby, karate, Ultimate Frisbee, tae kwon do, skating — that are highly competitive, but are not school sponsored, she said.
“We can celebrate and applaud their achievements, but we can’t give them a letter as a school-sponsored sport,” she said.
Parent James Sheldon, whose daughter, Haylee, is an 8th-grader and equestrian, said winning a varsity letter isn’t the point. He said riders need the designation to be able to compete, often at distant places in mid-week, at shows without being penalized or marked absent without cause by the school.
Ms. Haas was enthusiastic about the achievements of some students in grades 6 through 8 who participated in National History Day, and competed and even won honors. A 6th-grader did well enough to warrant entering national competition, she said.
She siad there was some thought the history research grup might warrant being recognized as a club, she said. To have a unit in both the intermediate and middle schools might cost $6,000, she said.
That led Henry Goodhue, the president of the Hillsborough Education Association, to ask about the policy determining when a club adviser merits being paid. There are many paid stipends — some as little as $200 or $300 — specified in the contract between the association and the school, but many others are performed by the volunteer efforts of staff.
Some of those clubs include anime, birding, various language clubs, computer programming, concussion awareness, martial arts, video and film, woodworking, and happiness and appreciation.
