October 5, 2011
10/06/11 It is almost astonishing that the Plymouth High School Athletic Director, Roy Benge, his staff and volunteers can keep up with the nearly 700 students involved in their programs.
During the October 4 Plymouth School Board meeting, Benge said there were 681 participants in the various programs in the 2010-2011 school year. He said there were 288 in fall sports, 188 in winter sports, and 205, in spring. According to Benge, 55 percent of those participating are involved in at least two sports.
Benge said, “In all, there were 770 total contests.” He added, “It is common to have 10 plus contests on a Saturday.”
In order to merge the schedules with other schools, Benge said they schedule out between 1-6 years in advance.
Benge also takes a close look at the academic status of the athletes. He said the 2010-2011 GPA’s (grade point average) of athletes involved in fall sports was 8.663; winter, 8.536; and spring, 8.608. By comparison, non-athlete students GPA’s were between 6.824 and 6.857.
The number of athletes failing to meet the terms of the Code of Conduct dropped from 21 in 2009-2010 school year to 17 in 2010-2011.
The sports program has been hit hard with transportation fees and increases in pay to officials. Referring to donations, Benge said, “Plymouthis a community that’s very caring and generous.” He said two of the things that affect the revenues each year are “winning” and “weather”.
The Plymouth Schools has 105 more students this year than in the 2010-2011 school year. Superintendent Dan Tyree said the number of kindergarten students has increased by 24; grades 5-6 by 70; and grades 9-12, 17. There was a decrease in enrollment in grades 7-8 by 6 students.
The State ofIndianauses an official “count day” in late September of each year to determine the amount of funding each school corporation will receive. ThePlymouthsystem realizes approximately $5,500 per student in grades 1-12. AlthoughPlymouthprovides a full-time kindergarten program, the state only reimburses at a half-time rate.
Carol Anders Correspondent