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Commission surprised by loss of director
By Geoff Cox • Staff Writer
MONTEREY - The Highland school budget for next year is near completion and if passed as proposed the schools will no long longer pay for an athletic director position.
Created as joint recreation/athletic director last year with considerable effort by the recreation commission, the previous school board, and superintendent Gary Blair, the position was funded by combining the part-time athletic director salary allotted in the school budget over the past several years, roughly $8,000 a year, and $20,000 the recreation commission waived from 2006 that was returned to the general fund.
That job has now been effectively scuttled according to Blair's budget proposal. Blair, instrumental in creating the position and filling it with Brian Parker, cut the job due to overall decreases in state education funding that forced hard choices in the budget process.
The way things were structured when the combined position was created, the recreation commission's influence over the position was primarily in funding. Direction came from the school. In recent years the commission has pushed for a director. Last year they waived their entire unused 2006 budget allocation of $20,000 to enable the county to create the position through the school system. Another $20,000, the 2007 allocation from the county, was earmarked for next year in the same fashion.
Recreation commission chair Sherry Sullenberger said Blair had met with the commission, but members were surprised by what had happened. "As a board, we are in favor of keeping the position," she said. "Whether the county sees to budget for it is their call."
The school budget has been turned over to county supervisors for review.
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