In early December, Prince George's County Schools Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. proposed a fiscal 2012 operating budget that eliminates certain academic programs and freezes pay for all employees.

Among the proposed cuts is the elimination of all athletic programs for middle school students, an idea that raised the ire of the county school board. The 10-member panel will convene with Hite this month to discuss his proposal. 

The cuts would eliminate the job positions of school staff that coach and run these programs, along with the programs themselves, saving an estimated $800,000. The school board must vote on the budget before sending it to County Executive Rushern L. Baker III for consideration.

The elimination of middle school sports programs would devastate the entire county and prove detrimental to the development of children involved in sports, school board member Edward Burroughs III (Dist. 8) said.

"Middle-schoolers are very impressionable," he said. "They need more supports in place, not less. The coaches who work with the kids in sports programs are more than coaches for many of those kids. Many of our kids don't have someone at home waiting for them after-school who responds to them like the coaches will."

O'Shay Watson, the county school system's Supervisor of Athletics, agrees.

"The sports programs keep a lot of the participating kids safe," Watson said. "Many of them in the programs come to school just so they can participate in sports."

Cutting the middle school athletic programs would not be in the best academic interest of the students, Watson said. Now in its fourth year, the programs were cut once prior to reinstatement in 2006.

"Participation has been phenomenal," Watson said. "Unlike sports programs outside of the school system, we require students to maintain at least a 2.0 GPA without any failing grades. They have to be eligible to participate."

While all sports may not be offered at all county middle schools, the Middle Schools Athletic Association governs sports programs that include cheer leading, softball, basketball, and soccer. 

Board member Carolyn M. Boston (Dist. 6) said it's too early to speculate on Hite's proposal. "We haven't sat down yet with Hite," she said.  "Nothing in that budget yet is final."