Through the efforts of the Monson Lacrosse Association, the high school has had a varsity program for the past two years.
Members of the girls lacrosse team at Monson High School battle with their counterparts from East Longmeadow during a game last month. Going for this loose ball are Monson's Rachel Smith, (4), Jessie Egan, and East Longmeadow's Becca Moses. MONSON - Supporters of the lacrosse program pleaded with the School Committee earlier this week to keep the sport, which was supposed to be funded by the School Department for the first time next year.
For the past two years, the sport has been funded by the Monson Lacrosse Association.
But this year, due to budget problems, lacrosse has been on the chopping block. Cutting it would save approximately $15,000.
School Committee Chairman Jeffrey D. Lord said in a follow-up interview that most likely, the sport that would be affected by the cut to the athletic budget would be lacrosse.
"Unfortunately for us, our financial situation is no better than it was two years ago," Lord said. "Extracurricular is just that. We can't even fund our curriculum appropriately."
"You can't expect above average schools with below average funding," Lord added.
Lord said cuts include $50,000 to the technology budget, and the loss of a gifted and talented teacher at Quarry Hill Community School, which would eliminate the program that approximately 45 pupils participated in this past year.
Superintendent Patrice L. Dardenne said approximately 40 students play on the varsity boys and girls teams for the high school.
"Officially, no athletic program has been cut," Dardenne said.
Still, because lacrosse was mentioned as a possibility, that caused numerous parents and students to go to the committee's meeting and make their case for keeping the sport.
Lord noted that the lacrosse association "shouldered a big burden for two years," raising nearly $30,000 to keep the program going. Without its help, the high school never would have had a program because the district would not have been able to fund it, Lord said.
Meredith A. Magill, whose seventh grade son plays lacrosse, said all the students are upset about the potential loss of lacrosse. Cutting the program is not fair to them, she said. There are a total of 150 players, with some as young as kindergarten. The younger students are on club teams, all of which are funded by the association.
"In this day and age, where so few parents are involved with their children's sports and academics, your decision too arbitrarily axe the lacrosse program was a severe blow to those parents who have nurtured the lacrosse program since its infancy," Magill wrote in a letter to the School Committee.
At the meeting, Lauren Smith, the varsity girls lacrosse coach, asked why the Monson Lacrosse Association was not informed that lacrosse would not be funded. She said cutting the sport would be a "big mistake."
"What will it take to keep lacrosse at Monson High School?" she asked.
David Kinsley, of Gates Street, said the committee could find the money to make the sport happen.
"This is for our children," Kinsley said.
Lord implored all those in attendance to go to the annual Town Meeting on Monday at Granite Valley Middle School, and fight for more money for the schools. The meeting starts at 7 p.m.
The school budget for fiscal 2013 is $10.268 million, up from last year's budget of $9.916 million; that does not include an additional $450,000 that was added later through extra funding, such as the jobs bill, Dardenne said.
Also on the warrant is a request to borrow $3.4 million to build a new Town Building/Police Station to replace the one at 110 Main St. that was damaged by the tornado.
If that passes, the next step would be a special election in late June, where voters would have the opportunity to vote for or against a 15-year debt exclusion for the project. The tax impact is expected to be $100 for the average home valued at $220,000 in Monson.