School Board To Cut Fort Lupton High School Football Program To Save Money?
High School Football is a huge tradition all over the country, including right here in Northern Colorado. That tradition could be coming to an end at Fort Lupton High School. Here's all we know.
Fort Lupton High School Football Getting Cut Due To Budgets?
Sometimes in life and in business, you've got to make tough decisions. Currently, the Weld Country RE-8 School District's Board of Education is having to figure out the budget and is seemingly being left with having to possibly make some rather big and fairly unpopular decisions. One of them is the possibility of cutting the Fort Lupton High School Football Program.
As a guy who played High School football, I can attest to the importance of not just sports in high school, but the importance of football. It gives these young men (and sometimes women) a goal and motivation to do well in school because you must keep your grades at a certain level to participate. It was one of the reasons I personally was able to keep my grades in line while playing in middle and high school. Football is something that these kids look forward to on a daily basis and it gives them an immense amount of pride and confidence which is so important in a young man's life as they continue to learn and grow.
I interviewed Casey Hofferber, who's been a defensive coordinator for the Fort Lupton Blue devils for the past two seasons, who said:
"This will be my 5th Year with the program and second as defensive coordinator. In those five years we've had three different head coaches, which means we've had three different schemes that these kids have had to learn. Most of these kids have played Little League football together all the way through Middle School and now in high school.They enroll in football to help keep their grades eligible throughout the school year. As a parent, football keeps these young boys off the streets and focused on doing what is right. Football teaches work ethic, along with discipline. It gives these young men something to look forward to on a daily basis."
He also said part of the reason to cut their $39,000 yearly football budget is due to lack of performance, so are we willing to spit in these kids' faces and tell them basically "you guys suck, so we're not willing to continue to support you?" What kind of lesson are we teaching these young, impressionable minds with that kind of mentality? It's certainly not "keep working harder and never stop trying, even when things get tough" which is something I know I say to my kids all the time.
The district's superintendent, Alan Kaylor, told 7 News:
“I believe that after the conversation we have next Thursday, that'll be off the table. That's my thought, that football will be fine."
The Board of Education will meet on May 26th with a final decision. For the sake of these kids who have worked their butts off for their team, I hope they make the right decision. If the football program goes, what's next? This could be just the beginning.