MONROE - Board members for the Forum Monroe Youth Hockey Association, Inc. want the Monroe school district to take the lead in developing a cooperative hockey team for the 2012-13 season.
Tom Ganshert, along with other hockey supporters on the Forum MYHA, Inc. board, made a presentation to the Monroe school board Monday on their proposal to become a WIAA-sanctioned team at Monroe High School.
Ganshert, the Avalanche Pee Wee hockey coach who served on the hockey board for four years and was on the SLICE board for nine years, said club hockey players in Monroe don't feel like they are recognized as athletes because they are not part of a WIAA hockey team at MHS.
"I don't think we see an athlete of the week coming from a hockey team," Ganshert said. "This is a varsity program that will not cost the school district any money."
The hockey association is projecting $35,848 in expenses and $19,846 in income. Ganshert said the hockey association will raise $10,000 for the first year of the program. It also would have a $992 player fee to help cover expenses. The player fee for this year is $1,000.
The hockey presentation was just an informational item on the agenda and no action was taken by the school board. The school board would have to approve a hockey co-op and the WIAA would have to approve the plan by April 1 if Monroe would start a high school team for 2012-13.
"It has to start somewhere and a co-op is the way to start it," said Rob Hodgson, the treasurer of the Forum MYHA Inc.
Club hockey started in Monroe in 1974. Teams first played outside at the high school and later at Twining Park. There are now 75 members in the hockey association and teams have been playing at SLICE since 1999.
Ganshert said hockey leaders started meeting with MHS athletic director Dave Hirsbrunner and MHS principal Rick Waski in 2010. MHS would work with the WIAA to get a co-op approved, take the lead in scheduling games, hiring coaches and officials.
The MYHA would supply the facility, SLICE, set the fees and provide volunteers for the games. School board member Brian Keith said he supported the proposal, but he wanted to make sure all of the finances are set before moving forward.
Keith said the last time the hockey issue came up, there were Title IX concerns. Title IX bans sex discrimination and requires equal opportunity in schools, both in academics and athletics.
"I think it's a great idea," Keith said. "I just want to make sure we have all of our numbers in place. I think we should get some clearance and something in writing from the WIAA on the Title IX issue."
Hirsbrunner said that according to the WIAA, hockey is a co-ed sport.
"It's not an issue until someone complains," Hirsbrunner said.
Ganshert said that if there were girls who wanted to play on the team, they could.
The high school-age boys team joined the Northern Illinois Hockey League so they could play club games against top competition, he said. With the decreasing number of club teams, scheduling games can be tough. Ganshert also shared that there are 10 Monroe hockey players, ranging from seventh through 11th grade, who play hockey for club teams in other towns.
"You are seeing kids leaving town earlier and earlier to play hockey at other schools because they don't see an end product in Monroe," he said.
The hockey association has explored co-op options with Albany, Brodhead, Darlington and Lena-Winslow. Hockey leaders say that Belleville and Beloit Turner are also interested in a co-op. Eight of the 14 schools in the Badger Conference have hockey teams. Of the 91 varsity hockey teams in the WIAA field, 41 of them are co-op programs.
Hockey association leaders still want to have a boys team play in the Northern Illinois Hockey League even if a high school team is approved.
"We still need the WAHA team for the kids not in a cooperative school," Hodgson said. "They need a place for kids to skate so they don't go by the wayside."
In other action, the board approved a final amended 2011-12 budget and tax levy. After the district received final state aid numbers Oct. 14, the levy will be amended to $11.09 million, a 9.67 percent decrease from last year.
The tax rate will be $11.12 per $1,000 of assessed value, a 10.6 percent decrease from last year. School taxes on a $100,000 home would be $1,112.
The district is receiving about $1.6 million less in general state aid this year compared to last year, but about $99,000 more than first projected.
The 2011-12 budget is $35.6 million, a decrease of 5.54 percent from last year. Business administrator Ron Olson said the district will operate this year with a deficit of about $811,000 deficit that district leaders hope to offset by bringing in this year's budget less than expected or using the $4000,000 the district carried over from last year's budget. The district has brought in its budget less than expected for five straight years.
The budget includes the $1.87 million in cuts the district made after taxpayers rejected a four-year, $8 million non-recurring referendum in April. Under the budget proposal, the district will spend $27.75 million on general fund expenditures this year, down 7.54 percent compared to last year. Cuts included eliminating 11.4 teaching positions, eliminating 5.9 support staff positions, slashing the technology budget $325,000, reducing the maintenance budget $100,000 and trimming the co-curricular budget $24,500.
Tom Ganshert, along with other hockey supporters on the Forum MYHA, Inc. board, made a presentation to the Monroe school board Monday on their proposal to become a WIAA-sanctioned team at Monroe High School.
Ganshert, the Avalanche Pee Wee hockey coach who served on the hockey board for four years and was on the SLICE board for nine years, said club hockey players in Monroe don't feel like they are recognized as athletes because they are not part of a WIAA hockey team at MHS.
"I don't think we see an athlete of the week coming from a hockey team," Ganshert said. "This is a varsity program that will not cost the school district any money."
The hockey association is projecting $35,848 in expenses and $19,846 in income. Ganshert said the hockey association will raise $10,000 for the first year of the program. It also would have a $992 player fee to help cover expenses. The player fee for this year is $1,000.
The hockey presentation was just an informational item on the agenda and no action was taken by the school board. The school board would have to approve a hockey co-op and the WIAA would have to approve the plan by April 1 if Monroe would start a high school team for 2012-13.
"It has to start somewhere and a co-op is the way to start it," said Rob Hodgson, the treasurer of the Forum MYHA Inc.
Club hockey started in Monroe in 1974. Teams first played outside at the high school and later at Twining Park. There are now 75 members in the hockey association and teams have been playing at SLICE since 1999.
Ganshert said hockey leaders started meeting with MHS athletic director Dave Hirsbrunner and MHS principal Rick Waski in 2010. MHS would work with the WIAA to get a co-op approved, take the lead in scheduling games, hiring coaches and officials.
The MYHA would supply the facility, SLICE, set the fees and provide volunteers for the games. School board member Brian Keith said he supported the proposal, but he wanted to make sure all of the finances are set before moving forward.
Keith said the last time the hockey issue came up, there were Title IX concerns. Title IX bans sex discrimination and requires equal opportunity in schools, both in academics and athletics.
"I think it's a great idea," Keith said. "I just want to make sure we have all of our numbers in place. I think we should get some clearance and something in writing from the WIAA on the Title IX issue."
Hirsbrunner said that according to the WIAA, hockey is a co-ed sport.
"It's not an issue until someone complains," Hirsbrunner said.
Ganshert said that if there were girls who wanted to play on the team, they could.
The high school-age boys team joined the Northern Illinois Hockey League so they could play club games against top competition, he said. With the decreasing number of club teams, scheduling games can be tough. Ganshert also shared that there are 10 Monroe hockey players, ranging from seventh through 11th grade, who play hockey for club teams in other towns.
"You are seeing kids leaving town earlier and earlier to play hockey at other schools because they don't see an end product in Monroe," he said.
The hockey association has explored co-op options with Albany, Brodhead, Darlington and Lena-Winslow. Hockey leaders say that Belleville and Beloit Turner are also interested in a co-op. Eight of the 14 schools in the Badger Conference have hockey teams. Of the 91 varsity hockey teams in the WIAA field, 41 of them are co-op programs.
Hockey association leaders still want to have a boys team play in the Northern Illinois Hockey League even if a high school team is approved.
"We still need the WAHA team for the kids not in a cooperative school," Hodgson said. "They need a place for kids to skate so they don't go by the wayside."
In other action, the board approved a final amended 2011-12 budget and tax levy. After the district received final state aid numbers Oct. 14, the levy will be amended to $11.09 million, a 9.67 percent decrease from last year.
The tax rate will be $11.12 per $1,000 of assessed value, a 10.6 percent decrease from last year. School taxes on a $100,000 home would be $1,112.
The district is receiving about $1.6 million less in general state aid this year compared to last year, but about $99,000 more than first projected.
The 2011-12 budget is $35.6 million, a decrease of 5.54 percent from last year. Business administrator Ron Olson said the district will operate this year with a deficit of about $811,000 deficit that district leaders hope to offset by bringing in this year's budget less than expected or using the $4000,000 the district carried over from last year's budget. The district has brought in its budget less than expected for five straight years.
The budget includes the $1.87 million in cuts the district made after taxpayers rejected a four-year, $8 million non-recurring referendum in April. Under the budget proposal, the district will spend $27.75 million on general fund expenditures this year, down 7.54 percent compared to last year. Cuts included eliminating 11.4 teaching positions, eliminating 5.9 support staff positions, slashing the technology budget $325,000, reducing the maintenance budget $100,000 and trimming the co-curricular budget $24,500.