Budget-strapped Class AA approves proposal to end divisionals

Ten mill levies in Montana were voted down across various Class AA districts in May and, in addition to other cuts, athletic directors were faced with budget shortfalls, Michelotti said.

“If the mill levies had passed, this probably isn’t even a discussion,” Michelotti said. 

Class AA has staged divisionals since 2017-18 after a 29-year hiatus. 

“From the ADs’ perspective, there are multiple factors and one is the desire to keep the conference whole — that everything we are offering, we can continue to offer,” Helena Activities Director Tim McMahon said to 406 MT Sports. “Our fear was that we would see different schools or different districts start to piecemeal it. One district cuts one thing — somebody else cuts something else in an effort to balance budgets.

“I believe it was a pretty proactive move, with support from the administrations, to look at what we could do to allow all of us to save some money and still maintain the other things we are doing and have consistency across our (Class) AA conference as far as what we’re doing.”

McMahon noted that Class AA isn’t yet consistent with baseball and flag football, but “the things that have been in place, what we are currently offering, we want to continue to run them all — to offer the levels and the sports and activities we already have.”

The MHSA had to sign off on the proposal because it alters the postseason. 

“It had to be approved by our board but it’s a (Class AA) decision,” Michelotti said. “That’s how we operate. We do deny some (proposals) but if it comes down to an issue like this one, we aren’t going to deny that one when they pulled for it. If they would have been 9-to-7 on it, we probably would have said you need more of a consensus.”

If divisional tournaments were left in place, it could have meant cuts to other sports. Michelotti said the MHSA wouldn’t cut any sports unless there “was a significant reduction in participation” but individual Class AA schools could have considered that as an option.

“One of the things Class AA didn’t want was to have 12 swimming teams, instead of 16,” Michelotti said. “So they went back to a system, whether people like it or not, they did for 30-plus years.”

Said McMahon: “Every district is facing some financial issues and they are real. People are losing jobs. I know it’s kind hard of see the connection to it, especially with activities. We were having discussions about what could we see different districts getting rid of and the concern that we wanted to maintain what we have.”

McMahon said athletic directors also want to be “consistent” with how many teams advance to state across the five team sports: football, volleyball, soccer, basketball and softball. 

Each sport now has 12 advance to the postseason. There are play-in games for the state tournament for volleyball, softball and basketball; the first rounds of the soccer and football playoffs essentially serve the same purpose.

“I see value in divisional tournaments,” McMahon said. “Just like I see value in every sport and activity that we do.”

Activities might not be the first thing people think of when voting on mill levies but there is an impact, Michelotti and McMahon said, leading to a balancing act for schools.

McMahon said divisional tournaments are important.

“We love tournaments,” he said. “We also love speech and debate and cheer. Sophomore volleyball or whatever the level it is — whatever it is (kids) are doing. Whatever a kid’s thing is, we should support that thing as much as we can.

“I think people across the state, with the property tax increases that we saw, there was a little bit of a sticker shock. If budgets don’t go up, costs do. It’s no different than your family budget. If my costs go up and my income doesn’t go up, something has to give. The hard part is what is it? How do you do that in a way that you maintain academic standards and the activities for a school district?

“I will make the argument forever the last thing you want to start cutting is activities.”