Frank McCourt Helps LAUSD Close Sports Funding Gap

Faced with a $1.3-million cutback to the high school sports program in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the LA84 Foundation and Dodgers owner Frank McCourt have helped spearhead a fundraising drive that will enable more than 700 coaches to be paid and 75 high schools to maintain their sports programs for the coming school year. LA84 then came forward to make a grant of $252,600 and began encouraging other community members to participate. McCourt pledged that the Dodgers Dream Foundation would help support baseball and softball. Steve Soboroff, chairman of the Weingart Foundation, said his organization is donating $150,000. Other community members will be sponsoring additional sports, such as Chivas USA for soccer and Nike for basketball.

"I'm not so old I can't remember high school sports myself," he said. "They were a huge part of my upbringing and kept me on the straight and narrow. I'm the father of four boys who played three sports. It was a great way to help them stay healthy, stay out of trouble and learn about life."

McCourt mentioned former major leaguers who grew up in Los Angeles and played high school sports, including such Dodgers stars as Don Drysdale, Eddie Murray, Willie Crawford and Willie Davis. "I think the kids today deserve to follow in those footsteps," he said.

Finally, someone sees the value of HS sports for kids!