More gymnastics supporters stand up against Sioux Falls School District plan to gut program

Another of the Sioux Falls School District’s work sessions to go over the budget for next year with the school board was taken over by a discussion on whether the future of gymnastics in the district can be saved.

The discussion also dominated much of the public comment time during the regular board meeting that followed the work session.

Two parents signed up to speak during public input time at the work session, both seeming frustrated they only had 6 minutes to share between them, to which board member Cynthia Mickelson empathized and said board members read their emails from constituents. She also suggested using the district’s “Let’s Talk” feature to share concerns, too.

Jennifer DeGroot, parent of seventh grader Sophie DeGroot at Edison Middle School who is on the Lincoln High School gymnastics team, said parents and supporters deserve further clarity on the district’s equipment costs for the sport and would like to see a detailed inventory of the equipment needing to be replaced, with specific costs listed for each item.

Eric VanBeek, father of a seventh grader at Edison Middle School who participates in the Lincoln High School varsity gymnastics team, said gymnastics supporters would like more time to have conversations about solutions to the budget issue.

“Please think about this,” he said. “It’s my only sport that my daughter does. She loves it. It’s such a huge part of her life. If she doesn’t have this, she has no reason to be a Lincoln Patriot. That sucks.”

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Board vice president Carly Reiter noted the budget committee meetings for each of the district’s nearly 100 budget areas are informal, and meeting minutes aren’t recorded.

To that point, VanBeek said those meetings should be public, and the identity of the committee’s members should be revealed.

Board member Nan Baker asked assistant superintendent Jamie Nold what activities saw increased headcounts this year. Nold said softball, soccer, performance dance and wrestling saw more interest recently.

Reiter also asked why savings were considered in one sport, not spread out, something she said constituents had emailed her about.

Nold said some savings were spread across multiple sports, like the cut to meals at tournaments, but there were also increases needed for several years in supplies, and a recent increase in wrestling and softball participation.

Mickelson said she’d heard from constituents like parents who felt they didn’t receive any communication from the district regarding the possibility of the gymnastics cut going forward. She asked Nold what communication went out from the district on this issue, and Nold said that was shared in a parent meeting and in conversations with coaches.

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During the regular meeting, VanBeek and several other gymnastics supporters spoke against cutting the gymnastics budget. One woman who signed up to speak was turned down by board president Kate Serenbetz, because she did not live within the district’s boundaries.

Bobbie Tibbetts said she and other community supporters will do what they need to do to reach the participation targets set by the district, and will raise funds, too. Tibbetts also questioned the representation of the athletics budget committee, such as if they were all male or female, and if any of them represented gymnastics as a sport.

Kevin Knapp, a teacher in the district and a gymnastics coach at Jefferson and Roosevelt High Schools, said students, parents, families, coaches and supporters are willing to find solutions to this issue. He provided solutions to equipment needs, quotes for equipment, the creation of a nonprofit to purchase equipment and fundraising efforts, gaining additional gym space, improving participation and hiring coaches during the meeting.

Knapp closed his comments with a portion of a letter he’d received from a senior in gymnastics at the end of the year.

“Gymnastics saved my life, and I have to attribute so much of that experience to you,” Knapp said a student told him. “Every day, I would go the entire school day not talking, head down, and counting the minutes until I could go to practice, because you made that gym my absolute favorite place to be. For me, gymnastics was the best part of high school.”

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Maeve Boetel, a senior at O’Gorman High School who has participated in high school gymnastics for the last two years, said high school gymnastics has given her the support of her community. She told the board to consider the choice they’re making that will affect the whole community.

“In the last two years, I have found more joy than I have had in my entire life with gymnastics,” Boetel said. “You’ll probably never understand this fully because you were never in my situation, but this sport at a high school level has changed my life.”

Tentative approval of the budget will take place at the April 24 board meeting, and final approval of the budget will take place sometime in July when the new fiscal year has started.

There are 12 boys’ sports and 16 girls’ sports currently in the district. If gymnastics isn’t funded next year, there will be 15 sports for girls.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Gymnastics supporters stand up against plan to cut Sioux Falls program