Parents Go to the Mat for School Athletics

East Hampton High School’s auditorium was the place to be Tuesday night, as upwards of 75 parents and residents turned out to air their grievances at a school board meeting and subsequent athletic forum.

Joseph Vasile-Cozzo, the district’s athletic director, began with a presentation detailing current offerings. The district now has 19 varsity sports — with participation rates generally highest in the fall, dropping in the winter, and rising again in the spring.

Regarding the varsity football program, Mr. Vasile-Cozzo explained that a lack of participation, not cost savings, ultimately forced the district’s hand in deciding to abandon the program last fall.

Come fall, he said, 23 eighth-grade students and 12 ninth-grade students would allow for a “solid junior-varsity team.” He described next year as a time of rebuilding, hoping for a varsity football team to be back up and running by 2016. Meanwhile, four coaching candidates are also being interviewed. “That’s the football plan,” said Mr. Vasile-Cozzo. “It’s probably not going to happen as fast as people would like, but it’s methodical, and thorough.”

He said that participation rates are also trending down in wrestling, from 52 to 12 students, and in boys’ lacrosse, from 99 to 47 students. Meanwhile, field hockey, swimming, track, and girls lacrosse are surging in popularity. “My wrestlers are swimming,” concluded Mr. Vasile-Cozzo. “Kids are still playing, they’re just doing different things.”

Across the district, for the 2013-14 school year, 71 percent of students at East Hampton Middle School and 50 percent of students at East Hampton High School participated in at least one sport. Citing college applications and academic pressures, Mr. Vasile-Cozzo said it was uncommon to see a three-sport athlete competing on a varsity level.

In terms of challenges, Mr. Vasile-Cozzo cited geography as a significant hurdle, with students required to travel long distances to compete in games, often not returning home until late at night. Hiring qualified coaches has also proven a consistent stumbling block. Going forward, Mr. Vasile-Cozzo hopes to explore school-sponsored summer sports camps, youth clinics, additional middle school teams, and the development of a parent-run athletic booster club.

Tensions ran high as more than a dozen speakers approached the podium. In all, the forum lasted nearly two and a half hours, with an administrator expressing exasperation that moderators failed to curtail speakers, as nearly all went past the three-minute time limit.

Mary Lownes, a member of the Amagansett School Board and parent of three children, questioned why so many middle school students have been allowed to play varsity sports. She also noted a lack of community and student attendance at sporting events. “We lost our way somewhere and there are a lot of things we need to do to get back on track,” she said.

Dennis Lynch said that low rates of varsity football participation could be blamed on an “arrogant” coach. “The kids will play if the right coaches are in place,” said Mr. Lynch, who put his name forward as a potential candidate, even agreeing to forgo a salary. “If you allow football to fall off the calendar, you’re screwing this community, a part of our culture that you know will never come back.”

“Success breeds numbers,” he later urged, citing the popularity of soccer among middle school students. “If we get the football program back, you’ll see the same thing happening in middle school as it is with soccer.”

Mary McPartland described East Hampton as a “sports-crazed community,” not unlike several others on Long Island. “We have really good ingredients,” she said. “The question is what kind of cake are we baking?” She wondered whether participation rates or state championships signaled a successful program. She also advocated on behalf of preseason and postseason surveys to get student feedback.

Midway through the meeting, Jackie Lowey, a board member, explained that the board has never cut any athletic programs, and asked for an honest, open dialogue.

“We’re here in this forum because there’s a problem,” said Tom Cooper, a parent. “We want it addressed now, so when our middle schoolers are coming up, we will have strong programs.”

Throughout the night, several speakers expressed frustration with the hiring of teachers who commuted long distances, making them unlikely candidates to also coach after-school sports.

Kerri Jurkiewicz, a parent of two children, expressed her frustration at a lack of consistency among the coaching staff. “My son is in 10th grade and he’s never had the same coach twice. Get better coaches, get coaches who are here for more than one season,” she urged. “Why is that not happening? What’s the problem? Are we allowed to know? Is this politics?”

Simone Johnson blamed parents for what she perceived as a widespread lack of respect toward coaches. “When you bad-talk coaches in Starbucks, Waldbaum’s, the movies, the kids hear it,” said Ms. Johnson. “There’s a lack of respect for the coaches. It comes from home. You can’t have a good team if you don’t support your coach.”

Chris Corwin, a parent of three children at the John M. Marshall Elementary School, worried about next steps. “What I fear is that we walk away tonight and nothing happens,” said Mr. Corwin. “We need accountability going forward.”

Earlier in the night, the board sped through a truncated agenda.

In early December, the board briefly discussed whether to expand its current prekindergarten program from a half-day to a full-day program. With cost-savings in mind, the board put out a request for proposals from organizations able to offer full-day programs. Richard Burns, the superintendent, explained that three proposals were received by the mid-January deadline, from the Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center (which currently runs the district’s half-day program), Long Island Head Start, and SCOPE Education Services.

Each organization will make presentations at the Feb. 3 school board meeting, when financial implications and types of programs will be examined in further detail.

The board also discussed the school calendar for the coming year. Since Labor Day falls late this year, on Sept. 7, students and staff will return on Sept. 8. Traditionally, the first day back has been a day of professional development for administrators, teachers, and staff. As such, East Hampton schools will see a two-hour delayed opening for students.

In addition, the board approved paid leaves of absences for child-rearing purposes for both Annemarie Brown and Erin Abran. Megan Cavanaugh was appointed to a three-year position as an English teacher at an annual salary of $60,416.

The board approved a girls varsity softball team trip to the Walt Disney World Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla., from April 2 to 13 at an estimated cost of $800 per student. The district will cover $722 in transportation costs. The board also accepted an agreement from J.C. Broderick and Associates, an environmental and ecological service company based in Hauppauge, to conduct a drywall inspection at each campus, per a new recommendation from the Environmental Protection Agency. The estimated cost is $2,900.

Finally, the board accepted a donation of 30 standard and 6 large Googolplex geometric building sets from Glenn and Edie West to be used at the elementary school. DiSunno Architecture also donated four printer cartridges and a 24-inch paper spool for use in the high school’s art department. 

The board will next meet on Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m. in the district office for the first line-by-line budget workshop of the 2015-16 school year. Payroll and benefits are first on the docket. While the public is welcome to attend, comments are not allowed.