A few weeks back, Athletics and Activities Director Jim McClowry brought forth his...well...jumble of personal notes... supporting a 275% increase in athletic fees for hockey. The board approved those fees, but, based on comments, it seemed like that decision was not final; it was pending the outcome of a full report to the Finance Committee on June 25th.Which never happened.
What Mr. Clowry should have learned by now is that his lack of public information and subsequent delay results only in idle fingers. And idle fingers tend to seek out the Internet to find information on their own. And that never bodes well.
Initially our quest was to rebut some of the data McClowry presented to support the huge increase to hockey fees. He raised the cost of ice time, which is a valid issue. But what he didn't offer was the cost to maintain other sports that he seems to favor. What is the cost of Ashley Field maintenance? We have been told as much as $60,000 per year (but have since learned it's only $15,000/year). But...what other sports than football is Ashley Field used for? That's a hefty cost for 5-6 games per year.
And what about all that equipment used by football. Blocking sleds? Helmets? Pads. How much did they cost? How long do they last? How much will replacement cost be? Who's paying for that? These are all good questions, but we want to talk about some other things that popped out of Google.Did anyone know that Mr McClowry is on the Board of Directors for Sun Prairie Little League? We're not saying it's a bad thing. But is it the only sport with a board on which he sits? We checked youth football...nope. We're not going to waste any time checking hockey. It's clear he's no fan of hockey. Does THAT pose a problem for someone who is supposed to equally represent ALL sports/activities? Was that the best decision? Is it appropriate? A conflict of interest?
And what about using his school district e-mail as his contact information for little league? We keep hearing how busy Mr. McClowry is. We wonder how much of his district time involves Little League matters. Varsity baseball coach Rob Hamilton is also on the board of directors (which makes sense a s a feeder program). But coach Hamilton is a model for integrity. He uses a private e-mail address. Hmmmm.
Oh...and then we found very interesting the fact that Mr. McClowry has quite frequently reserved the JV baseball diamond (behind CHUMS, field D) for "McClowry Baseball Practice". Huh? What's that. Doing a little digging, we found that McClowry coaches a ....wait for it...BASEBALL team. Gee...guess we don't anticipate any big increases in baseball fees!
But what of using this field? Are other teams in his league allowed to use that field?? In fact, we hear some rumblings in the community that this field is not in the greatest shape and the district is trying to limit the volume of use. Guess that doesn't apply to Team McClowry...right?
There is district policy for using these fields. And it involves paying a rental fee or "donation in kind". Is McClowry paying these fees? Or just piggy-backing on the blanket Little League donation in kind?
We have a few concerns. And a LOT of questions that seem to be begging for answers.
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