Schools

Despite Pay-for-Play, No Sports Until Spring at Mokena Junior High

Scheduling and few sign-ups have put MJHS sports on hold until spring.

Although reinstated cut extracurriculars in September, late scheduling and student athletes who made other plans mean there won't be any sports until spring.

In a special meeting in late September, . Extracurriculars have been cut for the past two school years , but were brought back last year after parents and boosters promised to raise the required $250,000 on their own.

The fees parents would have paid this year for activities ranged from $28 for debate club to $308 for both boys and girls basketball. But not enough students signed up.

Find out what's happening in Mokenawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Some academic activities like student council and scholastic bowl are running, but all winter sports have been canceled after the school couldn't gather the 15 kids needed to field a team.

Although , MJHS Principal Michael Rolinitis said he is concerned the pay-for-play plan would kill any future attempt at . 

Find out what's happening in Mokenawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"If they were ever going to go to referendum again, the community wouldn't believe them," Rolinitis said.

'A Horrible Mistake'

Rolinitis expressed that concern to the board in a July 11 letter to board President John Troy that Patch obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

"When we allowed the parents to fundraise and bring back extra curriculars (sic) for the 2010-11 school year, I think we made a horrible mistake," the letter said in part. "Throughout the entire school year, I heard parent after parent; community member after community member share the sentiment that we must not have really needed the money; that our financial situation must not be that bad because we found away to bring these activities back."

"I believe if the Board elects to bring back extra curriculars in any format it will severely damage any chances of passing a referendum in the future and it will further increase the level of mistrust the community has for the school district," Rolinitis wrote later in the letter.

By phone last week, Rolinitis said the mistrust was "more of a perception issue with some of the people in the community."

"It didn't seem to matter to them that (last year's extracurriculars) were privately funded," he said.

Not Enough Sign-Ups

If you went to the Meteors volleyball game last month, you went to the one MJHS sporting event until spring.

"When we started with volleyball, we were only able to get in one game," Dean of Students Don Shaughnessy said. "When we started calling (other schools to set up games), sometimes they were two, three, four, five, six games into their season."

Sports run in stages. The cross-country season had wrapped up by the time pay-for-play was approved, Shaughnessy said. Boys volleyball and girls basketball were next – that's where the one volleyball game was played.

Conference games are usually set in January, Rolinitis said. Although the Meteors were able to set up 11 last-minute boys basketball games with other schools – the normal season is 16 to 22 games – not enough kids signed up to field a team.

Sixth-grade basketball requires 20 sign-ups for both boys and girls. Seventh-grade and eighth-grade basketball and all levels of volleyball require 15 student. Track requires 65.

Rolinitis and Shaughnessy both said they believe the students who would have played basketball had already signed up for other leagues: park district leagues, travel teams, etc.

"They're unable to participate in any of the (school) activities now," Rolinitis said.

In non-sport activities, student council, which needed 20 sign-ups, has been meeting, scholastic bowl (15 sign-ups needed) will soon start meeting and intermural sign-ups are going well, Shaughnessy said.

Shaughnessy said the National Junior Honor Society looks like it will get the 30 sign-ups it needs to start.


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