After just one day of striking, Charlotte Amalie High School coaches appeared to get what they asked for: the promise of sports being added to next year’s executive budget.
Though there was no specific figure given, CAHS Athletic Director Myron Corbett seemed to be pleased with a meeting he had Wednesday with Education Commissioner LaVerne Terry, who talked about ongoing discussions she is having with Sen. Carlton Dowe about putting school athletics permanently into the government’s spending plans.
The conversation prompted Corbett to announce that all after-school sports programs at CAHS will resume Thursday.
The CAHS coaches went on strike Tuesday after the school’s concession was shut down because it was out of compliance with federal food guidelines. (In an Education Department release issued Wednesday, Terry explained that closing the concession was "necessary to protect" [funding for] the federal school lunch program.)
Because CAHS did not have a budget for athletics before, the concession helped put thousands of dollars toward the program, which is now lost. Left without any answers, the coaches conducted regular physical education classes during the day but decided to boycott the after-school practices until something was done.
"It always starts with funding, that’s basically it," Corbett said Wednesday. "We have to be funded just like any other department within the school system. A lot of times we’re just left to do things on our own to make things happen, and I think the commissioner understood what I was saying and was very amicable. I think that moving forward, athletics are going to get some kind of funding to exist in the Virgin Islands, and won’t just be left to deal with whatever meager dollars we generate ourselves."
But even with the promise of having something for next year, the coaches still have to get through this year’s seasons with a lack of money. Some sports might be able to do that easier than others, but football is definitely at the top of the list of programs most affected.
"This lack of funding, it affects us greatly," CAHS football coach Francisco Jarvis said Wednesday. "I’m thinking every other football program in the U.S., they go through their practices without any hitches, with funding available so all the kids can have helmets on and whatever. Since I’ve been here, I know that CAHS hasn’t ordered any football equipment even though the program is in dire need."
Jarvis said he is optimistic about the conversations Corbett is having with the government and the school’s principal, but is still wary about the condition of the equipment and field.
"I have adopted this theme for the CAHS football program this year, and that’s ‘Against all odds, we will survive,’" Jarvis said. "Because how things are done now, well, we’re not doing it the right way, and I’m very uncomfortable having kids out there, with the athletic level they’re at, competing and practicing the way that they do. We practice hard and it’s real dangerous. I’m just trying to get my team ready for the season, but at the same time, I don’t want to risk any of my players getting hurt, so it’s a very precarious situation."
Both Corbett and Jarvis advocated for donations for the program, especially from CAHS alumni.
"There’s a number of alumni on St. Thomas and throughout the Virgin Islands," Corbett said. "And if they support athletics, we’re open for donations. They can contact the school, and we would be able to accept their contribution on behalf of the athletic department, for sure."
In the meantime, the athletic department and school administration will be working out what to do in the short term, he said.
"Something is better than nothing," Corbett said. "That’s the premise I’m looking at. But I know we’re going to get something and it’s going to be substantial; and it’s going to more or less be able to carry the program to the next level."
