Private donations might revive C teams

C teams may return to the Shoreline School District but only if people in the community step up to fund them through private donations.

At its May 19 meeting, the Shoreline School Board agreed to allow private money to pay for C team sports programs that were eliminated last summer as part of budget reductions.

An individual or group would have to come up with an estimated $62,000, the cost to provide C team programs. The deadline to come up with the money is Aug. 1 so coaches can be hired and schedules made.

“If $62,000 comes forward from the community we will fund C teams next year,” Shoreline School District athletic director Don Dalziel said.

C teams are primarily for underclassmen who don’t make a junior varsity or varsity team but want to play a school sport. The money raised would have to cover boys and girls soccer, baseball and girls tennis C teams at Shorewood and Shorecrest high schools, a total of eight teams.

Private financing is a solution for the forseeable future until the district, which closed schools this year and is emerging from a fiscal crisis, has an acceptable amount of cash reserves, defined as 4 to 5 percent of expenditures.

“When we get to an adequate yearly fund balance, a strong fiscal situation, we might look at funding C teams but at this point in time we’re looking at year-by-year parent support,” Board chairwoman Debi Ehrlichman said. “We’ll just have to see how it goes.”

Earlier this year some people inquired about private financing but no one has made a financial offer or stepped up to the lead the effort, said Dalziel.

“I think there’s definitely parents that would be willing to take it on,” said Cassy Aspinall, who has a son who plays varsity soccer for Shorewood and is concerned about the loss of C teams. “I think the big question is the time frame. I think parents are definitely interested in seeing what they can do to help the district reinstitute C teams.”

The idea of private funding was brought up in February, but it’s taken time to approve that strategy.

“Well I understand it’s a short time frame,” Ehrlichman said. “There is a process we do have to go through, (going) to a committee, the gifts, grants and donations committee, to get their feedback on it, too. I understand it’s a short time period. There are may be people that are able and willing to step up and there may not be.”

Shoreline parents raised $13,000 for the initial C teams in the district — boys soccer, baseball and fastpitch — in the spring of 2000. The following year, the district had $800,000 in discretionary dollars that were used to pay for new programs including C teams, which, until this past year, were part of the athletics budget.

Doug Terrel, a parent who has a son who plays varsity soccer for Shorecrest, helped raise money the first time Shoreline added C teams in 200.

“We did it back then we had a precedent for it, we felt,” Terrel said.

Two months isn’t a lot of time but it’s better situation than last year, he said.

“If you get enough phone trees going it can work,” Terrel said. “Some people just need to get busy on it. We tried to talk to them months ago.”

He said parents called and sent e-mails to the board and Dalziel but were told they weren’t going to listen to a proposal for private donations at the time because of other pressing budget decisions, which Ehrlichman confirmed.

“It was basically tabled at that point, by letting it go so long that we’re behind the eight ball,” he said. “At least they’re letting us do some private funding, where last year they didn’t want to hear about it at all,” he said.

When parents brought up the issue earlier this year, the Board reconsidered the idea.

The board asked how much it would cost to pay for C teams and district administrators provided an original set of data, then a revised set of data, before allowing the private financing to be approved, Dalziel said.

If people want to donate or head up the process they can call Dalziel at 206-368-4770 or send him e-mail at: don.dalziel@shorelineschools.org. If the community steps forward to lead the effort, the district will direct those wanting to donate to that individual or organization, district officials said. Funds will not be solicited or collected by the district.

“I hope this thing goes if we get a good groundswell going,” Terrel said. “If it doesn’t just fall on one to five people’s shoulders we can go somewhere with it.”