Union school officials said recently that they would need to decide soon if the district will honor request to start a girls softball program in order to get the sport up and running in time for the 2010-2011 school year.
But, we caution, before the district moves forward with adding the expense of another program, its leaders should ask themselves the following questions:
* Is it wise to keep expanding and adding to the budget as student numbers decrease and talk turns to the possible closure of one of the district's elementary schools?
* If the program is warranted, can Union work cooperatively with a neighboring district in order to give its students the opportunity while keeping costs and long-term commitments at a minimum?
For years we've been calling on all area school districts to engage each other in talks of cooperative sports and other extra-curricular efforts. In a sparsely populated region, where population totals are falling, individual school districts can't be asked to provide every sport or every program that students might want. Not only are there financial realities that need to be considered, but student numbers need to be taken into account.
We're not against softball at Union, or any other school. We're not against school sports. But we are against rising property taxes and cuts in core educational programs. School funding should go first toward education. If anything is left over, sports and other programs can be funded. Union, like all other districts, need to decide what the future holds for extra-curricular programs in an age when funding is drying up, student numbers are going down and taxpayers are rising up against what they see as irresponsible spending.