Anchorage School District superintendent Carol Comeau's proposal to outsource high school boys hockey would save the district $244,400 a year and cost each player's parents more money each season.
Outsourcing means the district would no longer pay coaches' salaries, transportation or ice time for all eight schools in the Cook Inlet Conference. Those expenses would be borne by an organization willing to foot some of the bill -- or players, parents and coaches raising funds.
Currently, baseball, softball and boys and girls bowling are the only sports outsourced by the district.
Exactly how much each hockey player would pay is unknown. It depends on such variables as whether coaches are paid or volunteer -- or if practices take place on free outdoor rinks or expensive refrigerated rinks.
Hockey may be the most expensive high school sport in the Cook Inlet Conference. Just renting ice time at Ben Boeke Arena costs $210 an hour for boys varsity teams, said Annetta Powell, a manager at the arena.
"No one wants the kids not to play hockey," school district supervisor Todd Arndt said. "We're exploring whether the community can support the high school season.
"It's a serious consideration."
Outsourcing softball takes some serious fundraising.
Every year, Chugiak's softball team raises about $10,000, said head coach Jim Iagulli. It's enough to support three teams -- varsity, junior varsity, C team -- renting fields, training coaches and paying for umpires, tournaments and other odds and ends. Each player chips in another $125 to $175 out-of-pocket.
Expect hockey to be much more expensive.
Board members considered every sport, Arndt said, seeking ways to trim the district's $17.9 million shortfall. But only boys hockey was considered for Comeau's long list of recommended cuts because of the high cost of maintaining the sport.
"Just with the ice time, it's very expensive," Arndt said. A single boys varsity hockey game costs $290.
"It's the most expensive sport," said Paul Brauneis, athletic director at Chugiak and the league director of the Anchorage High School Hockey Association. "But it's a productive sport ... it makes education last a lifetime."
Boys varsity hockey teams play 20 to 25 games a season, and the sport has a rich history of players advancing to junior hockey as well as the collegiate and professional ranks.
"We have a tremendous athletic program," Arndt said. "It provides for a large number of kids, and there's a cost to that. (But) right now, it's public process to examine those dollars."
Because hockey is such an expensive sport, Brauneis said he's not sure if any Anchorage organization will be willing to pick up the tab.
"I think the community will be in an uproar," he said.
Citizens can testify about the budget at three public meetings at the new Anchorage School District Education Center -- the old Boniface Center on the corner of Northern Lights Boulevard and Boniface Parkway -- on Thursday; Jan. 31, and Feb. 8.
At Thursday's 9:30 a.m. meeting, the board will review the districtwide budget with Comeau and department leaders. But they will not vote on the budget until after two public readings on Jan. 31 and Feb. 8.
"People are more than welcome," board member Jake Metcalfe said.
The public reading on Jan. 31 falls in the middle of the Cook Inlet Conference Tournament, which determines which teams advance to the state tournament. And the Feb. 8 meeting is on the opening day of the state tournament at the Wasilla Sports Complex.
Metcalfe said the School District did not schedule the meetings to conflict with hockey schedules.
"We have a lot of stuff going on," he said. "We could upset any number of people no matter what days were chosen. There are deadlines to meet."
Arndt said he's also concerned with the impact on student athletes.
"We have a lot of great players that come out of here, and we have tremendous infrastructure," he said. "It'd be sad to see it go back to the community.
"But in the day of budgets, athletics has to come up with comparable reductions. It seems that this is one that the superintendent is pretty interested in."
Daily News reporter Kevin Klott can be reached at kklott@adn.com or 257-4335.
SPEAK YOUR MIND
Anchorage School District Public Hearings
WHEN: Thursday at 9:30 a.m., Jan. 31 and Feb. 8 at 5 p.m.
WHERE: Anchorage School District Education Center, 5530 E. Northern Lights Blvd.
WEB SITE: www.asdk12.org
