CAT Tracks for June 18, 2003 CAIRO FOOTBALL PROGRAM

The following article appeared in yesterday's The Southern Illinoisan...

CAIRO FOOTBALL A GO -- FOR NOW

BY TODD HEFFERMAN
THE SOUTHERN
[Mon Jun 16 2003]

CARBONDALE -- Anchored in financial quicksand, Cairo officials plan on the school fielding a football program this fall despite possible cutbacks in extracurricular activities.

The Cairo school district spent more than $1 million last year than it took in and had a projected deficit of $800,000 for the school year by February.

In April, 55 school employees were told they could lose their positions following budget cuts and the state assigned a financial oversight panel to get the district out of the red.

That FOP, although not likely, could tell the district to cut all extracurricular activities for next fall and beyond in an attempt to save as much money as possible. Cairo's administration, school board and students would have to abide by its ruling.

Dave Hindman, one of three members on that panel, said Monday he wanted to see the Pilots keep their fall and spring sports, but that nothing was outside the lines of a budget axe.

"Sports are a classroom, an outdoor classroom," said Hindman, who coached 10 years at the junior-high level and served as a basketball referee for 18 years before retiring. "We're going to try to do everything we can to make that happen, but our top priority is education. Our mission is finances, and finances touch everything.

"There is nothing there that is sacred."

Since former coach Ron Woods retired following last season, when the Pilots went 3-6 and had three All-Black Diamond Conference players, the school has been searching for a football coach. Cairo high school is also looking for a new principal, and trying to shave off as many staff and programs as it can to save the district money.

Cairo Superintendent Dr. Robert Isom said the FOP told him and the school board that programs with low participation, even sports, could be cut this and future years.

"We will probably not fund those activities where participation is low," Dr. Isom said, adding that football had 'decent' numbers with 40-50 kids out last season. "We are proceeding with the understanding and expectation that there will be football this fall."

Tom Ellis, who coaches Cairo's track teams and assisted with Woods for 10 years, said he was scheduled to interview for the head coaching spot and expected the Pilots to fulfill their schedule.

"As far as I know, we're going to play," Ellis said. "We're still looking into filling the position."

Cairo's financial straits put Meridian students into a strange position, since the school co-ops with the Pilots for football. Meridian Athletics Director Mitch Haskins said the school sent about a dozen players last year to Cairo to play, and expected to continue the cooperative agreement.

Tonight in Meridian, the school board will discuss the agreement at its 6 p.m. meeting.

"If our board will support it, and if Cairo plays football in the fall, I expect to see our kids playing right there with them," said Haskins, who recommended the school continue the cooperative pact. "I don't think they would leave the kids without some form of extracurricular activities, because it makes for a more well-rounded student body.

"Another direction we could go is up to Massac or up to Anna. That's highly unlikely."

Carterville, Eldorado and Johnston City coaches all said they had not been informed of Cairo pulling out of its responsibilites to fulfill its portion of the Black Diamond schedule.

"I talked to Ron Woods Saturday night, and he seemed to think that they would play this fall," Carterville's Dennis Drust said. "We intend to play them, and we haven't gotten any word yet."

Johnson City coach Mike Rude said he hoped 2003 wouldn't be the first year since Cairo's program started in 1920 that the Pilots don't field a football team.

"I just hope that they keep it going, because coach Woods really worked hard to keep it going," Rude said. "It could have died several times without him. It wasn't as much about the victories as it was having a program for the kids."

Cairo hasn't had a winning season since going 5-4 in 1990 and had five seasons where the Pilots didn't win a game since. Woods, now a full-time minister, stepped down after 17 seasons but was very confident someone would pick up No. 18.

"You can go up. You make it to the playoffs, and you've done something that's never been done before," Woods said. "It's my opinion that we're going to play. It's just as important as any sport. Our community doesn't have a lot of things for our kids to do. Basketball has been highly successful, because of coach Larry Baldwin's efforts, but we had kids play college football last year."

Hindman estimated Cairo's extracurricular budget at between $80,000-100,000, and said that was reasonable even with the district's financial pitfalls.

"For that size of a district, that's not too exorbitant," he said. "However, if you don't have it, it's a lot of money."

Cairo's school board meets Thursday night, although the FOP hasn't formally announced a meeting date since getting together Wednesday night.

Hindman said the committee hired a consulting firm, Marion's Educational Management Consultants, to help with the district's day-to-day concerns and that the FOP hoped to have all the budgets for the next school year finished by the end of this month.

Woods said he hoped the Pilots' football field wouldn't be empty this fall.

"I can't imagine them not playing," he said. "It's been one of my life's passions to make sure there's football in Cairo. "It's important that athletics stay in schools, whether it be baseball, football, soccer or whatever."

todd.hefferman@thesouthern.com 618-529-5454 x15087