Cumberland School Board Votes To Join Middle School Athletic Association

Cumberland County Board of Education voted 6-3 Wednesday night to enter the Tennessee Middle School Athletic Association.

TMSAA is an organization that administers middle school sporting events in Tennessee in conjunction with the TSSAA. 6th District Board Member Chris King said there certainly were pros to joining the organization.

“There are many reasons I’ve heard that have been listed for us to join TSSAA: insurance, officials, state playoffs,” King said. “I’ve listened to coaches and coaches are saying that if they had them from 6th to 8th, grade, basically they would have everything they needed to be state champs.”

However, King voted no on the resolution. He said he felt as if the board was “darned if they do, darned if they don’t,” because a membership could pose as a barrier to entry for students and also that there could be a hidden motive to build two middle schools with the approval.

The cost to join sets at some $17,700 recurring annually, including stipends and membership dues for the schools. Board members voted to move those funds for the coming fiscal year.

“I think from the get-go the funding was an issue and some principals brought up ‘why do we have to spend $300’ and I think that from the very start of this, we suggested that funding the first two or three years be provided by the Cumberland County Board of Education and that’s what I see taking place now,” Board Member Robert Safdie said. “The stipend will be much more permanent.”

Board Chair Teresa Boston said the board had budgeted some $560,000 for stipends in the coming year. She said the budget committee talked about joining TMSAA at length, and that it knew it would be a cost to come later.

“We couldn’t fund something the board did not approve at that point,” Boston said. “So this is more of a procedural thing at this point. We had already talked about it and discussed it in a favorable manner.”

Safdie said that means some time in the future schools will absorb the $300 to be a member of TMSAA. He said unless something goes awry, the board will pay the stipends. Boston said $15,000 would be in line with coach stipends.