LAUSD Superintendent Rescinds $24 Donation Request

Ramon Cortines, superintendent for the Los Angeles Unified School District, announced Thursday that he is rescinding a request for a voluntary $24 donation from each student athlete to help pay for a $650,000 cut in transportation funding for the City Section sports program.

"After further review of the voluntary $24 per student transportation donation for high school sporting events this year, I have ordered this decision for a request for this voluntary fee be rescinded and have asked staff to go back and review other alternatives," according to the statement.

"Although this district is in a financial crisis, I am asking for other financial options to cover the $650,000 needed for the district's athletics transportation budget."

The City Section Athletics office sent an email to schools and coaches informing them of the decision.

Robert Alaniz, the district spokesman, said Cortines had been unaware of the $24 donation request and was concerned that students who could not or did not contribute would face a stigma.

Is he kidding? Two key words here: Voluntary and Request. If $24 dollars could save an entire districts athletic transportation needs (or help relieve the cost), why not try it. Coaches would find a way for their athletes to raise the money, if they could not afford the $24 dollars a year - and other options could be implemented as well.

LA Unified is not the only district facing cuts and refusing to consider minor athletic fees to keep their programs alive. In an era where most kids have at least one or more of the following items; cell phone, IPod, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, PSP, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS video games - not to mention things like; skateboards, bikes, athletic shoes and equipment - a $24 dollar fee seems like a reasonable request. What do you think?