Cross-country program in need of funding

Usually July is a time for relaxing for Sue Loeffler, who is the physical education teacher at Bigfork Middle and Elementary Schools as well as the high school head cross-country and track coach.

This year, Loeffler's summer vacation came with a hefty task — raising $2,650 to save the Bigfork High School cross-country program.

The school board withdrew the funding for the boys and girls cross-country and golf teams while making budget cuts this spring to account for the $297,000 shortfall that the district was facing.

The teams can still exist and compete as a school-sanctioned sport if they can raise enough money prior to the start of the season. The two programs were selected to have their funding cut because of the low number of students that participate in these sports compared to the cost of offering them.

"Our numbers are down but some of these kids are getting scholarships for this sport and that makes it work it," Loeffler said. "Not to mention getting rid of cross country hurts our track program too."

There were 11 participants on this year's golf team and seven on the cross-country team. However, those numbers don't tell the whole story, according to Loeffler.

"I would coach cross country even if there was just one kid out," Loeffler said. "To me, if you can reach one kid, then you are making a difference and it is a success."

Loeffler voluntarily forfeited her $2,376 cross-country coaching salary in order to decrease the amount that will need to be raised. Assistant cross-country coach Jessica Johnson's position has also turned into a volunteer job rather than one for pay this year as well.

Loeffler said that her immediate offer to do away with her salary was based on the fact that she feels adamantly that the program is valuable to the Bigfork students and the school.

"I really believe that our distance runners have helped put Bigfork on the map," Loeffler said. "I think they've done a lot for the school."

Kayla Carlson, who graduated from BHS this June, and Brooke Andrus, a 2006 BHS graduate, are among the distance runners who Loeffler is referring to. Both earned top placings at state meets during their high school careers and are currently competing or will be competing as distance runners in college.

To Loeffler, though, the smaller accomplishments in the sport are just as important.

"Running is a life-time sport," she said. "Anyone can do it. It doesn't matter how good you are. Everyone can participate and no other sport can say that. It is the only sport that allows the athlete to continue to work on themselves and their personal best. That's what sets it apart."

Bigfork has had cross-country program since as far back as anyone can remember. When Loeffler arrived in Bigfork as a student teacher in 1974, she was asked to step in and help coach the girls cross-country team. The program thrived for another decade until in 1986 when the participation numbers dropped very low and Loeffler was unable to coach as she had just had her second child.

In 2000, the program was reinstated after urging from multiple students.

At the time, the program had to be team funded, as it will again be. In 2004, the school board agreed to begin funding cross country, as well as soccer.

The sport is important to the students who participate in it because of its unique format, according to Loeffler, who said that the sport is commonly misunderstood by those who have never attended a meet.

"Every kid feels important no matter how they are running or where in the pack they are at," she said. "Every person is cheered for and supported."

The students who participate in the cross-country program, as well as their parents, are working on raising funds for the team and plan to host a fun run in August.

"I couldn't ask for better support from the parents," Loeffler said. "They'll do anything to keep the program."

The $2,650 price tag includes the use of the school's buses, gas, a driver and lodging when needed. The amount does not include meet fees, which the team may incur once or twice a season at a rate of about $50, according to Loeffler.