Sports opportunities are not equal in our public schools

Sports surround us, fascinate us, help us stay healthy, teach us many things like teamwork, selfdiscipline, responsibility, supporting others, confidence, leadership, self-respect, and setting goals for ourselves.

The Olympics are an example of how far back in history people have competed in sports from 776 BC — 393 AD in Olympia, Greece. Wrestling, running, long jump, javelin, discus, chariot racing, and boxing were part of these early Olympics.

When we participate in a team sport like football, baseball, basketball, and soccer, or a sport we can accomplish by ourselves and continue to play throughout our lives such as swimming, golf, running, or bowling, we develop the ability to concentrate and maintain focus.

Participating in sports and physical fitness activities helps us sleep better, relieves stress and anxiety, and helps our physical and mental health overall.

But access to sports is not equal for all. Students in Pottstown School District do not have the same opportunities that children in surrounding school districts have, both at school or as a child moving through feeder organizations. The schools do not offer as many sports options as those from wealthier school districts.

Many Pottstown High School students who would be great assets to various sports are working after school to help with family finances, taking away all the opportunities to participate in sports. Because of many circumstances such as this, some of the Pottstown teams are minimally staffed with students.

It has been well over 10 years since any Pottstown School District team has won a championship of any kind. This is certainly not for lack of athletic talent, but is like a spider web with many tentacles leading to lots of other unresolved issues. Pottstown Schools have a storied history of many championships, but not these days.

Pottstown schools are extremely underfunded which creates many challenges in all areas, including sports. The budget for sports in the 2012-13 school year in Pottstown SD was $827,012 from a $51,334,194 overall budget, making the sports budget only 1.6% of the total budget.

Eight years later in the 2020-21 school year, the budget for sports was $915,966, an increase of just $88,954 from 2012, and from an overall budget of $65,413,614, actually decreasing the sports budget to 1.4% of the overall budget.

Funding of equipment, uniforms, transportation, field upkeep, and salaries for coaches are just some of the line items that come out of the sports budget. An example of the lack of equity as per this issue is that well-funded school districts purchase new uniforms for their teams on a yearly basis; Pottstown students are wearing old uniforms that were purchased many years ago and worn by many other students.

Most districts place between 3-5% of their overall budget into sports; Pottstown SD is well below the average. If it is a choice between a leaky roof or a flooded basement, those items will always take precedence over putting money in the sports budget.

Pottstown teachers are the lowest paid in Montgomery County, so this trend follows into salaries for coaches. Some teams have volunteers to help or coach.

It took over three years for Pottstown School District to raise the $300,000 needed to replace the lights on the football field, and most of the money was raised from a large grant through state Sen. Robert Mensch, bake sales, T-shirt sales, private donations, etcetera. “Friday Night Lights” were gone for three years in Pottstown.

We are not talking about 3 million dollars, we are talking about $300,000 in the second wealthiest county in the state. In surrounding districts, replacement of these lights would have been taken care of immediately.

Accompanying this article are charts for boys’ varsity sports and girls’ varsity sports, encapsulating the teams offered at seven area high schools.

This information was gathered from websites and discussion with school district athletic directors and administrative assistants.

Once again, underfunding affects students in many ways that hamper their ability to use all their talents to their utmost.