Another victory for the Taxpayers League

Star Tribune Tue, 13 May 2008 06:28:28 GMT
As school districts look to save, athletic programs lose out

(FIRST OF THREE PARTS) Even when it’s not basketball season, Brock Tesdahl likes to shoot baskets in the gym at Crosby-Ironton High School. The sophomore was part of the Rangers team that finished second in Class 2A at the boys’ state tournament in March, and he’s already thinking about next season. But his junior year might be the last chance he gets to play high school basketball. Like a growing number of schools in Minnesota, Crosby-Ironton is facing a crisis in funding sports and other activities for its 357 high school students. After local voters turned down a levy last fall, the district announced that all high school and middle school activities would be cut in the 2008-09 school year. Fundraising appears to have saved activities at Crosby-Ironton for one year, but after that the ax is likely to fall. And without high school sports, what next? “It would be horrible for our community,” Tesdahl said. “I can’t even imagine it happening. It would be a disaster.”

[[keywords: Schools;Metro;]]