The Cumberland County Board of Education did not vote on the Final Forms, a sports management program, during the August board meeting.
The board discussed that now may not be the best time for the school system to integrate another new system. The BOE heard from both athletic directors who said coaches, athletes and parents may not be ready to integrate another system this school year.
The athletics department will be using an alternative method for the remainder of this school year while the school board looks into sports management systems that can fulfill the role.
The Cumberland County Board of Education heard from Final Forms Ambassador Mike Ellson who delivered an in-depth pitch for purchasing Final Forms for Cumberland County Schools during the work session earlier in August.
Director of Schools Rebecca Farley said during the August board meeting that the cost to invest in Final Forms is approximately $6,800. Farley also stated in that meeting that the bids have expired.
In order to pursue this sports management program again, the board would need to send out a new request for bids.
During the August work session, both the Stone Memorial Athletic Director Nathan Brown and Cumberland County High School Athletic Director Blake Allen attended to share their perspective of the Final Forms sports management program.
They communicated that the new program may be a strain on the coaches, athletes and their parents.
“I’ve talked to several of my coaches about it,” said Brown. “The biggest question I have in regards from my coaches is, ‘Is it going to make my job easier or harder?’ Because sometimes things seem to roll downhill and they want to help kids and so they want definite answers on how Final Forms would help them be a better coach and serve our kids better.”
Brown also shared that last year, the athletic departments used a sports management program called Big Teams. He said it did not go well for all parties involved.
“So, a lot of folks have bad taste in their mouth right now,” said Brown. “From our standpoint, from coaches and parents that I’ve spoken with and athletes who were pretty perturbed with Big Teams, the roll out and how it went, they’re very hesitant to try something new.
He said that they told him they didn’t want to see another program get rolled out that would end up getting dropped in the long-run.
“They’re not sure they want to invest their time and energy if it’s not something that’s going to be a long-term investment that ultimately allows them to be better coaches,” said Brown. “That’s the general consensus that I’ve received from my coaches, parents, and athletes.”
Allen shared what his coaches, athletes and parents are most concerned about.
“The implementation is what mine are most concerned about since we’re already this far into the season, you know, the fall season’s begun,” said Allen. “[They’re] just worried about getting our parents, which, we still have people that can’t even register for schools with the online portion.”
Allen shared that everyone would need to be trained on using the new program. This training would take some time to conduct.
Jon Matthews, 7th District, made a motion to not move forward with implementing Final Forms, and Nicolas Davis, 5th District, supported the motion. After the board discussed further and came to the consensus of not using it this year, both Matthews and Davis withdrew their motion and second.
To view the full meeting, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT6PaUi-qm8.
The Cumberland County Board of Education is scheduled to meet Sept. 2 from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Cumberland County Community Complex at 1398 Livingston Rd. in Crossville.