by John Dowd
As schools in the valley prepare to ramp up for the year, the last of several board meetings saw the addition of a new middle school sport opportunity, but with a catch. The Stevensville School Board voted to include cross country in the sports offerings. However, the school board decided that the district cannot afford to fund the program. This means that the school, and the community, will need to raise the funds to make the program happen. On top of that, the fundraising effort is under a time constraint, as cross country begins just after Labor Day.
To come to the decision, according to Stevensville Superintendent Dave Thennis, the school put a survey out to middle school students and their parents. The survey asked about their thoughts on adding the sport to the offerings and Thennis said that there was significant interest.
The vote was held at the board’s regular meeting, Tuesday, Aug. 8. It approved Stevensville Middle School to organize a cross country team and to compete within the state. However, the district will not be able to fund the endeavor. Thennis said the district is still “trying to be financially responsible.”
This all means that the community will need to raise an estimated $3,500 for the program to get off the ground. That estimate would cover both a coach and travel expenses. Fortunately, explained Thennis, that is a relatively low cost for a sports program, compared to other school sports.
One reason for the low cost is the fact that many of the middle school cross country meets coincide with the dates and times of the high school team meets. This means that the middle school team would be able to hitch a ride with the high school team. Thennis said that alone provides a huge cost savings. He said the community is already being extremely generous. “Word of mouth has actually been pretty beneficial to us so far.”
The program will be opened up to seventh and eighth grade students, to stay on par with the rest of the middle school sports ages. Thennis believes there are already around 20 students interested in cross country. The board will hold another meeting, scheduled for Aug. 23, to look at and vote on coach applications.
Another Stevensville School sport in a similar situation is the high school baseball program. Last year was the sport’s inaugural year in Montana schools. It was also accepted by the board, along with the stipulation that the district could not afford to fund it. That year, at least $30,000 was raised for the program. With the school still not in a position to fund a new sport, Thennis said that the district and the community are again discussing fundraising for this year. Thennis estimated that the baseball program will need between $15,000 and $20,000 to operate again this next spring. “Baseball was really positive for us last year,” said Thennis, “We really want to keep that ball rolling.”
Last year, the team had around 17 players, and though some were lost to graduation, the school believes there will be more interested incoming freshmen to fill spots.
With many schools in Montana feeling the heat as COVID-19 funding runs its course, Stevensville is not alone in struggling to fund programs. Thennis said that the “transition makes it difficult to add a new sport.” According to Thennis, a big part of the issue comes down to enrollment. Montana school funding is very dependent on enrollment numbers. Many students, post-pandemic, are deciding to finish out by getting their GED or HiSET instead of continuing through traditional public school. Thennis said this is one reason Stevensville High School is starting its new alternative learning center this year.
“That’s our effort to retain the kids we do have and attract kids to come back to school, here,” said Thennis.
Persons interested in Stevensville School sports, and their fundraising programs, can call or visit the school district office at (406) 777-5481.