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Board hears athletics and co‑curricular budget details; district adds JV girls flag football
Summary
The Board received a budget update for athletics and co‑curriculars: the athletics budget is up about $44,000 (3.2%), the district is adding a JV girls flag‑football team, and administrators highlighted high transportation costs for skiing.
Yorktown Central School District officials presented an athletics and co‑curricular budget update at the Feb. 10 board meeting, saying the athletics budget rose roughly $44,000 (about 3.2%) from the prior year and that the district plans to add a JV girls flag‑football program.
Assistant Superintendent for Business (presenter) gave an overview and turned questions to Rob Barrett, director of athletics, and high‑school principal Joe DeJenero. Barrett summarized athletics staffing (one director, one 0.3 FTE seasonal coordinator, one administrative assistant, one athletic trainer and about 84 coaches) and participation: the district reported more than 1,000 team enrollments over the school year with roughly 650 unique students participating (about 70% of the high-school population participating in at least one sport).
The presentation broke down season‑by‑season rosters and transportation costs. Trustees asked about a large transportation line item for skiing (approximately $30,000 for trips with 14 athletes). Barrett and administrators said skiing trips are costly because they travel long distances and buses may wait at the mountain for several hours; the district is already sharing rides and recovering some costs from neighboring districts (Panis, Lakeland were cited as participants). District officials said that when outside students join, the per‑district cost falls.
Barrett also explained that some coaching cost increases are contractual (teacher-contract salary lines include many coaches). The district said some costs were offset by reductions in equipment and uniform lines. New equipment line items include starting blocks and a timing system for swimming and JV girls flag‑football startup costs.
On co‑curriculars, the district reported roughly 60 high‑school clubs and 24 middle‑school clubs. Some clubs did not run this year due to lack of student interest or teacher availability; district staff said the presence of new in‑school STEAM and coding offerings is shifting student interest toward other clubs (such as cooking and crafts). The co‑curricular budget summary showed a modest overall decrease (about $18,000) attributable to activities that did not operate this year.
Board members asked operational questions: transportation figures cover bus costs for contests and practices; supervision and other ancillary trip costs were not included in the transportation figures. Trustees asked about sustainability thresholds for clubs; school administrators said they evaluate sustainability case‑by‑case and pilot new clubs with teacher volunteer advisers in year one. If a pilot demonstrates sustainability, the district may allocate paid units subsequently; the board must review and approve new clubs that advance from pilot to formal status.
No formal vote on athletics budget lines occurred at the meeting; the presentation was informational and will feed into the district’s broader budget planning process.
