Posted on: Friday, August 15, 2003

Play the games, not politics

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist

At a time when public high schools in the state are looking at the possibility of cutting sports, there appears to be one game that is always with us: political football.

We are reminded of that as it looks more and more like the fate of some sports — and perhaps even state championships — are getting caught in the middle of a game of high-level political football.

Depending upon whom you choose to believe, if sports are cut or state championships impacted, it will be the fault of: (a) Gov. Linda Lingle; (b) Schools superintendent Pat Hamamoto; or (c) both.

For all the finger pointing going on — and some have termed it a "she said, she said" exercise in politics — there is no doubt who the ultimate losers in any prolonged confrontation will be: the students.

In one corner we have the governor mandating across-the-board budget reductions for all state departments and agencies, including the Department of Education.

In the other there is the DOE saying that due to the severity of the cuts, sports participation may take a hit. Not only in the four public school leagues — Big Island Interscholastic Federation, Kaua'i Interscholastic Federation, Maui Interscholastic League and O'ahu Interscholastic Association — but possibly even some Hawai'i State High School championship events, too.

The Governor maintains there is enough money for sports and her intention all along has been that no school-level funds in any area — academic, athletic or otherwise — be cut.

Meanwhile, the DOE , which says it has kicked around the possibility of withdrawing from some state championships as a way to save money, claims it has only so much money to work with and will be compelled to make the cuts wherever it can.

Reading between the lines, you have to wonder if some folks over in the DOE haven't seized upon the athletic issues as a highly visible stick to poke the administration and goad the governor into releasing more money.

The suggestion that state tournaments might have to be cut is particularly curious since we're told no funds are directly budgeted for HHSAA events in the first place.

Regardless, we know who pays the consequences of any enduring discord. That would be the athletes themselves, those whose interests and welfare should be foremost in the whole scenario.

Surely, somewhere in the vastness of the DOE, long one of the state's deepest bureaucracies, there are places where a few bucks that can be found without further weakening the academic mission. Somewhere in the administrative layer has to be a place where the bone isn't showing yet.

In the meantime, it behooves the powers that be to use their heads for something other than butting one another and put them together to find a creative solution.