The Wayland Union School District has lost three coaches and a middle school athletic director in just the last couple of months because of budget cutbacks.
As announced in June, boys’ varsity bowling coach Sherry Miklusicak reported her resignation and Monday evening she was joined on the sidelines by cross-country and track coach Jennifer Antel. Cheri Ritz, middle school athletic director, and Raymond Antel, track and cross-country assistant, also are stepping away.
The heart of the issue is Wayland’s recent budget cuts of coaches.
Miklusicak has coached the boys’ bowling team for 10 years and Eric Bottrall has been guiding the girls’ squad, which has produced a state champion, a state runner-up and a state semifinalist, in Sydney Urben, Bella Harnish Fitzgerald and Kadence Bottrall, respectively. If Bottrall could have defeated the eventual champ in the semifinals, she and Fitzgerald would have faced off in the championship match, both Wildcats.
But budget constrains insist that either Miklusicak or Bottrall take over the reigns as head coach and the other to be reduced to an assistant and taking a pay cut.
Miklusicak flatly said she would not compete with Bottrall for the job and resigned.
Antel, who also serves the community as mayor, has coached cross country and track at the middle school and varsity level over 13 years. She and Ray have been the heart and soul of the Wayland Road Runners Club for the past 29 years.
In a prepared statement, she told the board, “I’m resigning because I no longer feel that the role of coach is respected or valued in this district.
“I was told the coaching stipends had to be cut due to financial constraints and comparisons to other schools.I was further told $35,000 was saved by trimming stipends and eliminating coaching positions. These cuts were made without discussions with the middle school or high school athletic directors regarding the impact these cuts would be on the athletic programs…
“I heard through the grapevine that I will no longer be able to coach both boys’ and girls’ track, yet I’ve received no explanation as to why.”
She said she was told her coaching two sports at the same time would reduce staff for track, but she pointed out that she has used some of her stipend to hire assistant coaches.
She added that in cross-country she’s used her stipend to pay two assistants, saying, “One head coach and one assistant is not enough… It’s not safe, it’s not sustainable and it’s not fair to our athletes.”
Antel said, “These cuts aren’t only reflective of a budget, they are reflective of our values. The school is saying that our coaches’ time, expertise and commitment are worth less. You’re saying we aren’t worth the small salaries we have earned. You’re saying these students are worth less.”
Calling the cuts insulting and hurtful, Antel said, “these cuts may save a few dollars on paper, but they cost us experienced, passionate people. They cost us the culture we’ve worked years to build.”
She mentioned that it was an honor to work with Wayland athletes. “They are the reason I’ve stayed this long. And they are the reason I’m speaking up now.”
The past few weeks have been very interesting regarding WUS that we have read about. We have a Superintendent that received a rather large pay increase and annuity for all the heavy lifting he has done. One board member said it needed to happen in fear we may lose him…..Really?………Reeves and Co. gave a little raise to the teachers. WUS has a fund balance that has been cut to nearly half. Reeves and Co. thought it was a great idea to invest in a million dollar building across the street. Hard telling how much the remodel will cost….However Reeves got us a pool…….Seems there is little confidence from the athletic department. Now they (Reeves & Co.) are talking about larger class sizes. Ask Reeves and Co why the student count is declining……Reeves did his best to educate us on the difference between general fund money and bond money. Did he tell the fine folks where his raise came from? The WUS board thinks Reeves is a great leader? They confirmed this with a nice pay increase and annuity. Folks let’s remember these conversations when elections come next time.
My opinion!
Cheers!!