POULSBO — Economics is generally defined as the study of how individuals, businesses and governments use their limited resources to satisfy unlimited wants.

If the above statement is true, then the North Kitsap School Board of Directors will once again face a lesson in ECON 101 regarding the fate of athletic programming at the proposed high school in Kingston.

First on the road to preparing athletics for the new school was a presentation by North Kitsap School District Athletic Coordinator Al Gleich, who has been working to organize the programming for when the school is planned to open in 2006.

“The big issue is ‘what does a budget look like if we keep a middle school (athletic) program and change the high school program?’” Gleich said.

The district will go to a ninth through 12th grade high school system when the Kingston School opens and Poulsbo and Kingston junior high will become middle schools, with grades six through eight.

Athletic facilities at the new high school will need to accommodate the possibility of three teams in many of the sports — a varsity, junior varsity and freshman team. The middle school would see the same number of teams as the junior high level — one varsity and one junior varsity.

Another mystery at the new high school is how the curriculum of the four planned “small schools” — one for each grade of 200 students — will operate within the physical education programs.

“We don’t know what a physical education program will look like in small schools,” Gleich said. “There’s all kinds of things you can think up.”

Adding the new school and additional freshman teams at North Kitsap and Kingston high schools means the school board will have to make tough choices about what to keep and what to cut in athletics at the new school in the coming months.

For now, Gleich presented a plan that would double athletic participation in the area — but also nearly doubles the cost of athletic operations.

Logically, the budgets of NKSD athletic programming, in adding a high school in Kingston, would increase. The estimated cost of athletics in the district for the 2003-04 school year is about $550,000. Increasing the programs to accommodate a new high school would mean an increase of around $390,000 annually, Gleich reported to the board.

But additional funding could also mean the district could raise athletic participation two-fold, Gleich commented.

“In defense of the (budget) increase, we could double athletic participation (in North Kitsap),” Gleich said. “It all depends on whether the community is willing to afford the new programs.”

About 443 of the 1,795 students that attend 10th through 12th grade in North Kitsap are involved in athletics — around a 25 percent total.

Currently, grade nine to 12 students in North Kitsap also need two physical education credits to graduate. All students in the district complete one of the two credits at the junior high ninth grade level. The other half is completed at high school, but can be waived if a student competes in four seasons of athletics in the district.

There is a definite demand for school athletics in the area, Gleich mentioned, as teams at NKHS, PJH and KJH are almost always at maximum participation, and have to make cuts at the beginning of the season. For instance, both Poulsbo and Kingston boys’ basketball programs saw turnouts of about 80 students for around 30 spots. Gleich said he believes the increase is necessary, but also explained to the board that he understood that other areas are vying for new high school funding.

“As athletic coordinator, I want to see maximum funding,” Gleich said. “But there are consequences for that.”

In adding a high school in Kingston, the number of coaches would increase in at the high school level from 44 to around 104 total — 52 at each high school — Gleich told the board.

Having a higher number of students in athletics could make for a decreased use of illicit drugs among teens in North Kitsap, Gleich added. He cited a USA Today infographic that reported 30 percent of children ages 9 to 17 said no to illicit drugs due to their athletic participation.

A Department of Education study of after-school programs, also cited by Gleich, stated that programs like athletics also help kids stay in school and avert them from criminal mischief. Student athletes among teens who participate in after-school programs, were 60 percent less likely to drop out of high school than their peers who shied away from those same programs, the study found.

The new Kingston school will also have to join a Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) league in which to compete, Gleich said. Currently, the 800-student school would open at the 2A or 3A level.

The prospect of Kingston’s opening also makes for the possibility of forming an entirely new league in Kitsap County and the greater West Sound area.

“We would consider forming a new league,” Gleich said.

That new league could be a re-creation of the Olympic League and could possibly consist of teams from Bainbridge Island to North Mason to Port Angeles. But the idea is purely speculation, Gleich commented.

Infographic: Kingston high school’s proposed athletic programming

*every sport will include three possible teams

-Gymnasium

locker rooms, sports medicine facility, teacher offices

physical education programs all year

FALL

girls’ volleyball

WINTER

girls’ basketball

boys’ basketball

wrestling

-Tennis courts

Possibly 6 to 8 courts

FALL

boys’ tennis (may be moved to spring)

SPRING

girls’ tennis

-Southwest fields

FALL

football or girls’ soccer

SPRING

baseball

fastpitch

-Other Sports

FALL

girls’ swim and dive team at the NK Pool

WINTER

boys’ swim and dive team at the NK pool

girls’ gymnastics at TREK facility in Poulsbo

SPRING

boys’ golf at local courses

girls’ golf at local courses

-Track and field facility

All year physical education, weather permitting

FALL

football or girls’ soccer

boys’ and girls’ cross country

SPRING

girls’ and boys’ track and field

boys’ soccer

Source: NKSD Athletics officeBy JOSH FARLEY

Staff Writer

POULSBO — Economics is generally defined as the study of how individuals, businesses and governments use their limited resources to satisfy unlimited wants.

If the above statement is true, then the North Kitsap School Board of Directors will once again face a lesson in ECON 101 regarding the fate of athletic programming at the proposed high school in Kingston.

First on the road to preparing athletics for the new school was a presentation by North Kitsap School District Athletic Coordinator Al Gleich, who has been working to organize the programming for when the school is planned to open in 2006.

“The big issue is ‘what does a budget look like if we keep a middle school (athletic) program and change the high school program?’” Gleich said.

The district will go to a ninth through 12th grade high school system when the Kingston School opens and Poulsbo and Kingston junior high will become middle schools, with grades six through eight.

Athletic facilities at the new high school will need to accommodate the possibility of three teams in many of the sports — a varsity, junior varsity and freshman team. The middle school would see the same number of teams as the junior high level — one varsity and one junior varsity.

Another mystery at the new high school is how the curriculum of the four planned “small schools” — one for each grade of 200 students — will operate within the physical education programs.

“We don’t know what a physical education program will look like in small schools,” Gleich said. “There’s all kinds of things you can think up.”

Adding the new school and additional freshman teams at North Kitsap and Kingston high schools means the school board will have to make tough choices about what to keep and what to cut in athletics at the new school in the coming months.

For now, Gleich presented a plan that would double athletic participation in the area — but also nearly doubles the cost of athletic operations.

Logically, the budgets of NKSD athletic programming, in adding a high school in Kingston, would increase. The estimated cost of athletics in the district for the 2003-04 school year is about $550,000. Increasing the programs to accommodate a new high school would mean an increase of around $390,000 annually, Gleich reported to the board.

But additional funding could also mean the district could raise athletic participation two-fold, Gleich commented.

“In defense of the (budget) increase, we could double athletic participation (in North Kitsap),” Gleich said. “It all depends on whether the community is willing to afford the new programs.”

About 443 of the 1,795 students that attend 10th through 12th grade in North Kitsap are involved in athletics — around a 25 percent total.

Currently, grade nine to 12 students in North Kitsap also need two physical education credits to graduate. All students in the district complete one of the two credits at the junior high ninth grade level. The other half is completed at high school, but can be waived if a student competes in four seasons of athletics in the district.

There is a definite demand for school athletics in the area, Gleich mentioned, as teams at NKHS, PJH and KJH are almost always at maximum participation, and have to make cuts at the beginning of the season. For instance, both Poulsbo and Kingston boys’ basketball programs saw turnouts of about 80 students for around 30 spots. Gleich said he believes the increase is necessary, but also explained to the board that he understood that other areas are vying for new high school funding.

“As athletic coordinator, I want to see maximum funding,” Gleich said. “But there are consequences for that.”

In adding a high school in Kingston, the number of coaches would increase in at the high school level from 44 to around 104 total — 52 at each high school — Gleich told the board.

Having a higher number of students in athletics could make for a decreased use of illicit drugs among teens in North Kitsap, Gleich added. He cited a USA Today infographic that reported 30 percent of children ages 9 to 17 said no to illicit drugs due to their athletic participation.

A Department of Education study of after-school programs, also cited by Gleich, stated that programs like athletics also help kids stay in school and avert them from criminal mischief. Student athletes among teens who participate in after-school programs, were 60 percent less likely to drop out of high school than their peers who shied away from those same programs, the study found.

The new Kingston school will also have to join a Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) league in which to compete, Gleich said. Currently, the 800-student school would open at the 2A or 3A level.

The prospect of Kingston’s opening also makes for the possibility of forming an entirely new league in Kitsap County and the greater West Sound area.

“We would consider forming a new league,” Gleich said.

That new league could be a re-creation of the Olympic League and could possibly consist of teams from Bainbridge Island to North Mason to Port Angeles. But the idea is purely speculation, Gleich commented.

Infographic: Kingston high school’s proposed athletic programming

*every sport will include three possible teams

-Gymnasium

locker rooms, sports medicine facility, teacher offices

physical education programs all year

FALL

girls’ volleyball

WINTER

girls’ basketball

boys’ basketball

wrestling

-Tennis courts

Possibly 6 to 8 courts

FALL

boys’ tennis (may be moved to spring)

SPRING

girls’ tennis

-Southwest fields

FALL

football or girls’ soccer

SPRING

baseball

fastpitch

-Other Sports

FALL

girls’ swim and dive team at the NK Pool

WINTER

boys’ swim and dive team at the NK pool

girls’ gymnastics at TREK facility in Poulsbo

SPRING

boys’ golf at local courses

girls’ golf at local courses

-Track and field facility

All year physical education, weather permitting

FALL

football or girls’ soccer

boys’ and girls’ cross country

SPRING

girls’ and boys’ track and field

boys’ soccer

Source: NKSD Athletics office