Shaw superintendent: baseball, track will not be funded

SHAW — When the spring rolls around, there may be an awkward silence on the Shaw High School athletic fields.
Reason being, baseball and track and field will not be funded by the school district, according to Superintendent Cederick Ellis.
“For the 2010-2011 school year, the Shaw School District has adequate funding to maintain its football and basketball programs, Ellis wrote in an e-mail. “Band is also an extracurricular activity that will be offered for our students.”
This, however, won’t be the first time Shaw residents have had to deal with a sports cut. Last year, baseball and track were cut during an October board of trustees meeting. Residents then raised the funds to keep the sports going.
Ellis said he is confident that the same will happen this go around.
Ellis added that the main reason behind the cuts is the insufficient amount of funds distributed by the state.
As for the amount the district has to spend, there is $15,00 available for “general athletic supplies” for all sports, which does not include coaching supplements, Ellis stated.
“You’re limited as your budget,” Ross Saddler, Shaw School District business manager, told the Bolivar Commercial. “This ($15,000) covers all sports.”
Shaw isn’t the only school district struggling to sustain sports, while taking deep cuts in funding. The Greenville Public School District recently suspended six sports, due to an $163,000 dip in the athletic budget. The sports have since been re-instated and funds are being raised to fund them for the 2010-11 school year.
Greenville school officials have hinted that more cuts are possible without additional funding.
Ellis said as long as they don’t take another hit, he doesn’t expect any more cuts in sports.
“(We’re) confident that we will be able to maintain the sports currently available if we don’t experience additional budget cuts from the state,” he wrote.