Margaret Mellott
Managing editor
mmellot1@jccc.edu
Nearly two weeks ago, on Saturday, March 10, a group from the community went out to the outdoor track to protest the programs ending. To follow up, some protesters attended the Board of Trustees meeting last Thursday.
After months of reserved responses from the board, Jerry Cook, chair, Board of Trustees, had a statement prepared after the open forum. Ultimately, Cook reiterated the board’s stance on the issue.
“The college’s decision to discontinue the track and cross country programs were not taken lightly and is a decision the Board of Trustees stands behind that was made by the administration as a part of budget priorities moving forward,” Cook said.
Also during his prepared statement, Cook further explained why the college made the decision to discontinue the running programs.
“Over a year and a half ago, the administration as part of the Facilities Master Plan reviewed all programs, athletic and otherwise, and made reasonable recommendations about what was in the best interest to the overall student population and community with current revenues, tuitions, fees, enrollment and stakeholder needs,” Cook said. “The decision also included an approval by the board of the removal of the outdoor track facility as a part of the Facilities Master Plan.”
As a part of the administration people organizing the Facilities Master Plan, Randy Weber, vice president, Student Success and Engagement, said there were multiple events leading up to this final decision.
“As early as 2015 … we saw that the impact of the athletics budget on the overall student fee budget was such that we weren’t able to meet other, non-athletic request needs and opportunities,” Weber said. “We knew something needed to be done about the impact of athletics on the overall student fees budget.”
Later in 2015, the Facilities Master Plan started to come to the forefront of conversations; leading them to discontinue the running programs.
Weber said the decision wasn’t an easy one to make, and they understand the recent protests and resentment.
“As an administration, we understand the frustration with members of the track and cross country community about the college’s decision. It wasn’t an easy decision for us to come to, however, looking at the total resource picture at the college and where we need to be moving forward, it was a necessary decision so we could meet student needs.”
As plans move forward, Weber said he hopes that more students will benefit from the decisions made.
“We think [the Facilities Master Plan] is important because what we’re going to be able to do to reallocate some resources to under supported programs or to student organizations and clubs that have requested additional support over the last couple of years that have not been able to receive it,” Weber said. “We think [this] will have a positive impact. So, more or different students will have a stronger educational experiences at Johnson County as a result of this decision.”