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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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