Henderson to chip in $50,000 for school sports

By Emily Richmond

Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2002 | 9:15 a.m.

The Henderson City Council is expected to approve up to $50,000 to help keep middle school sports going in Clark County, a pledge that would likely pull the activities off the chopping block.

The middle school basketball program, along with the cheerleading and dance teams, were canceled last spring because of a more than $12 million deficit in the Clark County School District's $1.2 billion budget. District officials said it would cost $350,000 to keep the programs running.

A group of parents raised more than $65,000 with fund-raisers, including a golf tournament. And last week, the Las Vegas City Council pledged $250,000 to the cause, calling the sports programs a necessity that needed to be protected.

Henderson Councilman Steve Kirk said Tuesday he asked city staff to find up to $50,000 in city funds for the sports program. Kirk said he had the support of Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson and other council members, and expected the matter to be approved at the Nov. 5 meeting.

"We've long recognized the importance of sports in building character," Kirk said. "We've strongly supported sports programs through the city's parks and recreation department for years, and lending our support to these children now is consistent with that focus."

School Board President Sheila Moulton praised the public officials for "stepping up to the plate," saying she hoped the 2003 Legislature would increase per-pupil funding, which would make it less likely that such programs would be cut in the future.

"I appreciate the support we've gotten from the community, especially the cities of Las Vegas and Henderson," Moulton said. "However, we need to look at our overall funding sources so that we can start restoring programs that have already been eliminated."