Athletic changes show good teamwork
If you're looking for an example of teamwork, a good place to start is Columbia County schools' ongoing study of changes in high school athletic programs.
//
The process started with an extensive study by a countywide parents group early this year. That document raised serious questions about the county high schools' ability to effectively compete in football, especially when compared to some other Georgia schools.
One bit of proof is poigniantly obvious: No Columbia County public high school has ever sent a football team to the Georgia Dome to play in the state playoffs.
Columbia County school officials took a closer look at the study, and conducted some homework of their own. They found a few flaws in the document; for example, some of the counties chosen for comparison were much larger, skewing information on differences in pay. And the study focused on football, something a school system with diverse athletic programs can't afford.
But the core of the study, spearheaded by parent Randy Griffin, was solid. It suggested some basic changes the county could make to improve its high school athletic programs.
The county's response, based on their further study, will be to put about $85,000 into next year's budget to improve assistant coach's salary supplements, give more planning time to athletic directors and provide more pay when successful teams extend their seasons with playoffs, such as Greenbrier's baseball team has done in the past two weeks.
Incoming School Superintendent Charles Nagle says the study also will continue, and will include setting up an athletics committee encompassing all the high schools. That kind of communication is long overdue.
"I'm very pleased. I think it was a really good first step," Griffin told sports writer Billy Byler. "It was tremendous cooperation between multiple schools, multiple athletic directors and parents from multiple schools. The system worked the way it was supposed to work."
Teamwork succeeds on the field - and in the board rooms, too.