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Regional CTE program ends intercollegiate athletics; board members say they first learned in the news
Summary
Representatives reported that ELRI will end collegiate intercollegiate athletics and move to intramurals because the program has been losing roughly $300,000 annually; a local board member said districts learned about the change through press reports and requested better prior notice from ELRI leadership.
Representatives to regional career-technical governance bodies told the Salisbury Township School District board on Aug. 21 that ELRI will discontinue intercollegiate athletics and convert to intramurals because the program was running an unsustainable deficit.
Sam, reporting for the LCTI/ELRI governance update, said: "This year will be the last year of Collegian Sports; we're going to inter murals and the reason for that is we were netting negative three thou $300,000 a year for the cost of having them." He said insurance and transportation were the largest cost drivers.
A board member responded that several districts first learned of the decision from newspaper coverage. "I was a little surprised by just how we found out like I found out in the news," the member said, pressing regional leadership to notify sending districts before public reporting. Sam said the decision followed a five-year study of sustainability and that affected students were given year-of-notice to allow program completion.
Why it matters: The termination of intercollegiate athletics at ELRI affects students who have participated in the program and the extracurricular offerings districts can cite to families. The decision reflects a broader trend reported at the meeting of declining enrollment and cost pressures across postsecondary and technical institutions.
The board discussed the announcement but did not take formal action on ELRI athletics at this meeting; district representatives said they would ask ELRI leadership to improve direct communication with sending districts.
