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June
8, 2009
To: The Athletes & Students at Dixon High School and the
Community of Dixon
From: Tom Crumpacker
The purpose
of this letter is to explain why I am no longer the A.D. nor a coach at
DHS. Rumors run rampant and the truth is rarely explained. My goal is
to dispel all rumors and inform the public what has transpired these
past few months in the athletic world at DHS.
I did not
quit or resign as the athletic director at DHS. I was asked to cross my
association’s line by working for free (similar to crossing a picket
line). Those actions would undermine the spirit of the contract that
Dixon Teachers Association (DTA) worked to achieve in previous years.
As a result, I was removed as athletic director at DHS, and reassigned
to the classroom full time.
On May 21,
2009 the DUSD board of education abolished all stipends in the DUSD.
Many people will say that the stipend is just a few cents per hour
worked when reviewing the hours spent doing one’s job, and they are
accurate. Yet, the stipend does assist with one’s gross income and in a
small way helps justify to one’s family why they are away from home so
many hours. In my case, the loss of 3 stipends equates to just under
$9,000.00 in gross income.
My hours as
A.D. were reduced this past year from two periods of A.D. prep to one
period of A.D. prep. Additionally, hours of the A.D. will increase this
next year as DHS moves from the CVC to the GEL (2010-11 school year).
There are monthly meetings in the CVC. Moving to the GEL will result in
even more meetings. This means more hours out of the classroom, more
prep time, more make-up time, etc… Being an A.D. is like juggling balls
while wearing roller skates and skating on top of marbles. The A.D.
position is a glorified administrative position without the
administrative income. Despite the hours, I take pride in using my
organizational skills assisting our school and helping others run their
athletic programs.
It has been a
privilege and an honor to work with DHS Principal Ivan Chaidez. Ivan
has allowed me to expand and enhance our program and do the job of A.D.
with little interference. When necessary, he has stepped in with
outstanding guidance. Ivan Chaidez is a class act and it is my hope
that all people recognize and appreciate his service to our fine school.
I have been a
coach and the athletic director or a combination of both for 22 straight
years during my tenure at DHS. During this time, I have coached track
and field, football and cross country. Teams I have coached have won 7
Section titles and numerous league titles. At one stretch in cross
country, the DHS Varsity Girls X.C. team went 11 straight years
undefeated in league competition under three coaches – Bill Sampson,
Bruce Jones and myself. My personal view is that W’s are not the true
measure of a successful program – only a portion of the success. I
believe the true success of a program lies in the developmental
process of the student-athlete with the end result being a mature
and productive member of our society.
School Board
Actions:
I encourage all of you to read the letter (www.dixonrams.com)
I submitted to the District board of education during their June 4, 2009
meeting. I asked the board to reconsider the reinstatement of numerous
stipends (not just athletic) K-12 in the DUSD that would have a direct
or indirect impact on all students in the District. Reinstating sports
generates an estimated $530,000 in revenues (based on NOT losing 100
student-athletes in grades 7-12). The total that I proposed was
approximately $178,000 ($110,000 of which is sports-related). Therefore
the net gain to the school district exceeds $350,000 after stipends. A
board member responded to my letter the next day stating – “At best, I
was unfair” for asking for athletic stipends while teachers,
counselors, librarians, classified and other personnel were given pink
slips. In my letter I clearly explain the rationale of comparing
stipends with salaried or hourly positions is like comparing apples and
oranges. I also state that ALL students within the District would be
best served by my request. I asked for one more year to put sound,
logical and controlled fund-raising practices in place to best address
District needs and stipends. Unfortunately, I was limited by Public
Response rules to 15 minutes of input after stipends were abolished on
May 21st, In fact, May 21st was originally
scheduled as a “Workshop” where only discussions would take place. On
May 15th, after the May 21st Agenda was
published, DUSD changed the schedule from a Workshop to a “Meeting”
where items were not only discussed but voted on also. At the May 21st
meeting, the Third Interim Budget was approved. This brought back
sports, but not as we have known them in the past and not with head
coaching stipends as was discussed with superintendent Halberg.
Unfortunately, we were not notified in advance that May 21st had
shifted to a “Meeting” and Sports were to be discussed. Additionally,
the Agenda published on the DUSD website still shows it listed as a
Workshop”.
A sound and
logical presentation should have been allowed with discussion pro and
con in an open board meeting forum without time limitations (similar to
another hour long discussion that took place at the June 4th
meeting). It is very unfortunate that the M.O. of this board has been
to react/respond in rapid response to an issue without sitting back and
looking at the logical consequence of their actions. Logic would
indicate that a board response to the public should have followed the
elimination of sports and all stipends in the February 19, 2009 board
meeting. It was obvious to all present that the removal of sports would
result in a loss of revenue for the DUSD. I have been criticized by
some for encouraging the public to relax and allow the board to work
through the finances and that sports would return. The board directed
the D.O. to conduct a survey to outline the preference of reinstatement
of programs that were cut on February 19, 2009. The hope of the board
was for restricted dollars to be released by the state to the general
budget, thus allowing for the reinstatement and financial backing for
some programs. The board opted not to close M.P. continuation school or
move it to the new DHS site (it wasn’t a real savings to begin with) and
to not close another elementary school. Additionally, the board took
more than a fair share of the revenue to rebuild reserve funds to or
above the 3% level. I believe the superintendent also applied some of
the restricted dollars to the anticipated A.D.A. drop in revenue from
the state for the next year. The superintendent indicates that we will
end the year between $550,000 - $1.5 million dollars in our reserve
budget. I personally believe we will end the year near the $1 million
dollar mark or a little higher. In my opinion, there is the necessary
funding to reinstate stipends and allow site and District personnel time
to create and put in place a very sound framework and model for
fund-raising for stipends.
As it is now,
there is no framework or model leaving coaches, class advisors, band
instructors, FFA advisors, booster clubs and others on their own with no
guidance. An additional hope of mine was to begin the process of
creating the format for stipend reinstatement down the road. My idea
was to work as a liaison between the District and DTA creating a
structure and format that both could live amicably with. As it is now,
we could be writing a receipt for disaster with more questions than
answers. As A.D. I have always tried to anticipate the direction things
might go, whether positive or negative, with the goal of leading us down
the positive road.
Ethics:
It is
difficult for a young person to understand unions and associations and
the role they have played in the working conditions and contracts for
employees in all walks of life in American society. The Dixon Teachers
Association has played an integral role in the development of the
teacher contract in the DUSD. I don’t know the entire history of the
contract and like others I haven’t always agreed with the direction of
our Association in Dixon. Needless to say, there are those who have
gone before me who worked hard and made critical financial decisions to
put stipends in place. There is a sound reason for stipends. They
provide a nominal support fee for those who take on major duties that
require endless hours of dedicated work. For those certificated
coaches and stipend personnel who cross the line to work for free it is
my hope that you reflect on those who have gone before us and made
serious critical decisions that benefit you right now. The issue is
much bigger than stipend personnel. The issue is one that impacts every
certificated employee of the DUSD. Down the road when there are monies
for raises in the DUSD all employees will have to weigh what is
important. For the most part, negotiations focus on work days, raises
and health benefits. The actions of this board have added stipends to
the picture. In the past when C.O.L.A. was given, stipends increased
ever so slightly. In the future, the District will ask ALL of US, do
you want a 4% raise or 3% plus the reinstatement of stipends? There are
far more non-stipend personnel than stipend. How do you think they will
vote? Just how long are you willing to sacrifice for free? How long is
it before you burn out, all the while trying to explain to your spouse
your actions?
I have had
coaches tell me that they have to do it for the kids, care about the
kids, and can’t let them down. I had another coach tell me that they
have built their program up and their tournament up from scratch and
they can’t let it go. I clearly understand the dilemma. I don’t know
that there is a coach in the DUSD who has built more up than I have. I
am not trying to compare or brag – I just don’t think there is another
coach currently on our staff who has given more. When I arrived in the
DUSD in 1986, there was a run down track with absolutely no field event
venues. In one year Pat Modar, the Dixon Contractors Association, civic
organizations and I built the facilities with rubber runways. It was my
dream, along with Peter Sawyer and outstanding parents like Tony Kent,
to build one of the largest small school invitationals in the state of
California. The Dixon Ram Invite ran for 10 years and grew to 45 teams
and 1000 over athletes. DUSD authorized a minimum day at the high
school for the event. In addition to building in Dixon for kids, we
took our show on the road. We directed 6 Woody Wilson Invites at UC
Davis; 6 Sub-Section Track Meets for the San Joaquin Section; 3 Section
Track Meets and 4 CIF State Meets. My first track team went from 15
athletes to over 50 athletes in one season with me coaching them by
myself. We have been up and down over the years. Our cross country team
became so powerful in northern California that we didn’t even have to
have our names on our jerseys – people knew who we were. It has been
one heck of a run and I don’t regret one aspect of it. Yet, I
personally can’t cross the line. I didn’t make the decision. The board
of education did. With a little cooperative spirit and by listening to
their constituents we could be putting the model in place. We need
parents to step in our shoes and carry the ball for a while. They in
turn will put their energies toward getting the board to reinstate
stipends. The parents will also take the lead on becoming more active
and politically savvy by exercising the power of the pen at the polls.
I encourage all of my fellow certificated coaches to think long and hard
about their decisions and actions. Your actions affect the past,
present and the future.
I look
forward to seeing our DHS student-athletes on all athletic surfaces!
Unfortunately
I will have to be an observer vs. a coach as I watch our Rams in action!
Go Rams!
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