RE-2 District Meeting Addresses Concerns Over Possible De-funding of Athletic Programs
School Leaders Looking for Ways to Offset $360,000 Deficit
Trevor Phipps
Shortly after the ’25-’26 school year came to an end, information started circulating that the Woodland Park High School would be eliminating sports programs.
A few days after the news erupted on local social media pages, the Woodland Park School District sent out a letter to parents, coaches and staff stating that these claims were false.
Moreover, the district stated in the letter that they were committed to keeping all sports programs the same for next year. Moreover, they invited the community to a town meeting held on June 2 to discuss further details.
Reports abounded about this de-funding scenario when coaches said that they were told the district may not be able to fund sports any longer, and that they must raise their own money for their programs to continue.
This created much angst across the district, especially with school sports programs that have fared quite well in the last few years.
Many coaches voiced concerns that the school was planning on stopping to pay coaches, and fund competition fees, transportation, officiating and equipment. Many became concerned that Woodland Park could lose some of its sports programs.
District leaders tried to debunk these claims at the June 2 meeting, but at the same time, they admitted the schools are facing significant financial woes.
During the meeting, a panel of district staff (including Superintendent Ginger Slocum and Jr. /Sr. High School Principal Katie Rexford) gave a presentation explaining where the district was financially as far as sports and activities were concerned. They admitted experiencing financial struggles with funding, but they showed a plan to reduce spending and keep all sports and activities in place.
At the end of the presentation, the district panel fielded questions from the audience. High School Wrestling Head Coach Matt Hood spoke up and said that he and other coaches had an issue with a recent e-mail, especially a section that stated, “Fact vs. False.”
“All of us coaches got information and that information that was directly given to us (at the initial coaches’ meeting) was very contradictory to that e-mail,” Coach Hood said. “The public needs to know that we weren’t going around spreading rumors saying that you are trying to defund our programs. That was information that was given directly to us. And we are not people who sit around. We take action. We will go out and start trying to fund our programs.”
Principal Rexford responded to Hood’s remarks/questions by stating that the district “truly values all of their coaches.” “That first meeting that we had with coaches was premature,” Rexford said. “We recognized that and we went back to the drawing table and we really worked through a lot of the concerns that we heard that night. It was never ever our intention to put out a statement that made you feel like you were spreading false information. What we were trying to do was to hear you, hear your concerns and to clean up our miscommunication. I think part of being in a leadership role and working together is to be like… that was not the message that was intended. That’s our miscommunication not your misrepresentation of what you heard. And so, it’s up to us to make it better.”
District Outlines Ways to Maintain All Sports Programs
The high school principal showed a slide of statistics depicting how much is currently being spent on sports programs versus how much money they have generated. Through the combination of student fees, ticket revenue, fundraising and concessions, the district generates just over $180,000 for its sports programs.
However, with expenses ranging well over $500,000, sports and activities generate around a $360,000 deficit that the district must cover through their general fund or reserves. Rexford did say though that with plans the district has already initiated, they plan on reducing the deficit for sports and activities for next school year by around $85,000.
But the district’s efforts don’t end there. Due to their current financial state, district staff have formulated a plan to reduce the deficit even more in the future.
The principal said that they plan on adopting a “unified approach” to both reduce expenses and raise revenue generated by sports and activities. She mentioned that the district was already working towards seeking more donations and grants.
Another proposal was to host sponsored events. Rexford cited a Throwback Thursday volleyball game as one example, inviting community members to wear old jerseys while a local business sponsors the event. She also mentioned additional team fundraisers and the creation of a task force to guide the effort.
Head Football Coach and District Accountant Brad Page said that he has already seen ways that the district’s sports programs could generate more revenue. He mentioned that more businesses could sponsor the football field with banner ads especially since Panther Field gets viewed on tape by teams across the state.
The overall message of the meeting was that the district is having problems with funding, but there are solutions that they believe can remedy the situation for the future. This could allow sports programs to remain in place.
