School board approves c-squad

A “c-squad” was approved last week for high school volleyball, with the sport having enough students signed up to warrant it.

The Grand Coulee Dam School District directors approved the c-squad at their Sept. 23 meeting, and if boys basketball in the winter ends up with enough students for a c-squad, that is approved, as well.

In these sports, a varsity team comprises the top tier of players, followed by a junior varsity team, then, if there are enough players, a c-squad.

Board Chairman Rich Black said later that they wanted to give the students the opportunity to play these games and have fun.

Superintendent Paul Turner was absent from the meeting, but a note from him included in the board packet recommended not approving the c-squad due to the additional costs to the already struggling school district. He noted, however, that the decision is hard because “research supports the learning students receive from working in a team environment.”

“We are currently trying to trim $400,000 in expenditures for next year,” Turner’s note reads. “Everytime we add additional expenses, we need to make additional cuts.” … “I know it is a tough decision, but in the current state of school funding I can’t support these additional expenses, even though philosophically I don’t like it.”

The additional funding for adding both a c-squad for volleyball and boys basketball is around $12,000, Turner said, citing information provided to him by Athletic Director Tim Rasmussen.

It won’t be known if there will be enough students for a basketball c-squad until winter sports sign-ups occur.