Sacramento City Unified changes could prevent more than 1,400 kids from playing competetive sports
SACRAMENTO — Playing sports can be the highlight of many students' time in high school, but now more than 1,400 kids in the Sacramento City Unified School District will no longer be able to participate in competitive league sports.
The kids being impacted are those attending smaller high schools that provide specialized education in science, engineering, and the arts.
Those students currently are allowed to play on the teams of the district's large comprehensive schools, but officials are now planning to change that policy.
"The district plans to discontinue the CIF multi-school agreement," said Davis Parsh with Sacramento City Unified.
Renee and Barbara Webster-Hawkins have enrolled their two sons in the small schools, and they oppose the change.
"When you have to choose between your passion for a sport and your academic career, that's an incredibly hard choice to make," Barbara Webster-Hawkins said.
The California Interscholastic Federation, a sports governing body, uses enrollment to determine what division high schools play in. Currently, the large schools must include all the small school students in their numbers even if only a handful actually play on a team.
The change will allow some schools that currently play in Division I to play against less competitive teams in Division III. It will also save the district an estimated $7,700 a year in league fees.
The district said that currently, just over 2% of small-school students take advantage of the program.
Opponents say it's not fair to students who have a passion to learn and compete.
"What's the message that we're sending to kids if we're not letting them pursue both academics and athletics no matter what school they choose to go to?" Renee Webster-Hawkins said.
The district said a final decision will be made next spring, and small-school students could still form an intramural team if enough students are interested.