Petition to Keep and Fund the BHS Field Hockey Program

The Belvidere Board of Education has decided to move forward with a co-op agreement between the BHS field hockey program and North Warren’s, and the board stated that BHS will not be providing transportation for players to get to practice. When this decision was made in April, sign-ups had not yet happened. Since the April meeting when the vote took place, several more players have approached the coach expressing interest and commitment to play. 

With 18 players committed to the 2026 season, the myth that a co-op is necessary due to lack of interest in the program is now busted. As many of you already know, the Board's decision to do the co-op was a preemptive decision made out of the board's anxieties about the budget. Specifically, the Board is making this decision over how to fund the athlete's bussing to away games which costs a mere $6,000 out of the school's $12 million dollar budget. The whole field hockey program costs $26,000 which is only 0.17 % of the school’s entire budget. Indeed, the Board is pulling the plug on this program over $6,000.

Although the co-op was approved at the board meeting in April, the Board is delaying their vote on the budget to June 10th. If the Board was motivated, they could find other ways to secure $6,000 for the bus. The BOE says that the school is in "survival mode" when they cut programs, yet they are now singing a different tune as they prepare to vote for the two principals, the administrative assistants, and the non-union staff members to get a raise. Who are we putting first?