Osceola parents and Coaches voice concerns swift moves to cut some district sports

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Saturday, some parents in Osceola County joined together for a town hall to voice their concerns and brainstorm solutions to get several sports programs back in Osceola middle and elementary schools.

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The meeting was hosted by school board member Jon Arguello District 3 at Michigan Avenue Elementary. Coaches, teachers, and parents spoke about the recent cut of some sports in the district and how district leaders handled the problem.

“We have to have some transparency and open lines of communication so that we can see beforehand is this a good decision or a bad decision for the people that it’s ultimately going to affect?,” said Brennon Chambers, an Osceola County Teacher, and Wrestling Coach.

In May, the district posted on social media that it cut some elementary and middle school sports because of declining participation.

Osceola School District posted on social media as well with the following:

“Be assured that this decision was not made lightly. We understand the significant role that sports, and physical activities play in the development and well-being of our students. We are committed to continuing to provide seven other middle school sports (cross country, soccer, volleyball, basketball, competitive cheerleading, track and field, and flag football), three elementary school sports (coed cross country, coed soccer, and coed track and field), and a wide range of extracurricular activities to keep our students engaged in physical activities. We encourage our students to participate in the remaining sports and extracurricular activities offered and will be working to enhance these programs to accommodate increased interest.”

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The district said the budget savings were a by-product of the removed sports programs and it was not the only factor for downsizing from 10 teams to 7.

The district said the savings will vary between supplements, officials, transportation, and awards, and most of the costs is transportation for team sports.

According to the district, middle and elementary cut sports, cost savings would be approximately $42,000 a year.

Parents and coaches said there should have been more notice of the cuts so there could be more problem solvers at the table to help eliminate the problem.

“You have parents that advocate for their children you have people who maybe if you ask them wave some fees. See if even a parent would be willing to come and coach children for no fees, because the finances are the issue,” said Christina Karandreas, Osceola sports parent.

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The district said the decision was made by the district’s athletic department and district leadership, and athletic programs are evaluated each year.

Parents plan to bring the topic up at the next school board meeting.

Breakdown of Middle School Athletics:

**13 Middle schools in 2022/23 school year and 15 in 2023/24**

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Removing the following sports teams:

• FALL: Golf
• Winter: Wrestling
• Spring: Softball

Golf – (36 athletes in 2023, 92 in 2022)

i.      9 schools participated in 2023.

ii.      10 schools participated in 2022.

Softball – (118 athletes in 2024, and 116 in 2023)

i.      8 schools participated in both 2023 and 2024.

Wrestling – (127 athletes in 2024 and 150 in 2023)

i.      6 schools participated in 2024

ii.      7 schools participated in 2023.

Breakdown of Middle School Athletics:

Elementary Adjustment:

• Removing B/G Golf (32 participants)
• Removing Finals from Cross Country, Soccer and Track
• Removing Fitness Olympic Finals

Cost savings would be $10,300.00.

• Savings include Subs, Medals, Trophies, officials, XC and Track timers, course rental, and Transportation.
• Adding two new K-8, not sure what sports they will offer yet.

i.  Adding more Elem soccer games will cost approximately $1000, so the cost savings will be closer to $9,300.00.

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