By Scott Brinton
The Bellmore-Merrick Bulldogs varsity hockey team competes in the High School Hockey League of Nassau County. It is not an officially sanctioned Section 8 League, but rather a private organization. Still, a number of school districts, such as Long Beach, recognize HSHL teams as official district squads and fund them. Bellmore-Merrick does not.
Squads in the league include Bellmore-Merrick, Bethpage, Cold Spring Harbor, Garden City, West Hempstead, Island Trees/Plainedge, Jericho, Levittown, Locust Valley, Long Beach, Manhasset, Massapequa, Oceanside, Plainview/Hicksville, Sewanhaka, St. Mary's, Syosset and Wantagh-Seaford.
Greenwald said that in the 1970s, hockey was an officially recognized Section 8 sport, but during the 1980s it was stripped of that status. After that, Bellmore-Merrick no longer recognized the Bulldogs as an official district team, as it had in the '70s.
Greenwald and his wife, Alyssa, have an 11th-grade son who plays for the Bulldogs. He started playing hockey in sixth grade. Alyssa Greenwald said, "The kids just want to feel they are part of the district." Each year, she said, Mepham holds a big pep rally to honor the school's teams. The Bulldogs, however, are not allowed to take part in the rally, and they feel left out, she said.
District officials have outlined a number of concerns that would come with recognizing the Bulldogs. Foremost, they said, the team practices at odd times of the day, often late at night, because ice time at the Newbridge Arena is hard to come by. So, getting district coaches to supervise the Bulldogs would be difficult. Moreover, they said, finding coaches who are qualified to work with the team would be equally difficult, since most coaches do not have backgrounds in the sport. School officials said that Bellmore-Merrick district coaches would have to supervise the team. To do otherwise would create liability issues. Currently, parent volunteers coach the squad.
Board of Education members also raised the issue of funding for the program. The 2007-08 budget, which voters approved in May, is already set, they said. It does not include money for the Bulldogs. So, the earliest the board could consider approval for the program would be next spring, for the 2008-09 school year.
Greenwald told the Board of Education that the Bulldogs "are in a position to fund the program" in 2007-08.
Matthew Kuschner, the board president, asked, "Could you write a check for $60,000 to $70,000 to fund the program?"
"Yes," Greenwald replied.
During an interview later, Greenwald said the $60,000 to $70,000 figure was for three squads: freshman, junior-varsity and varsity. He said the Bulldogs were seeking recognition only for a varsity squad, and that the team has raised funds and collected annual fees to pay for the program.
Collecting fees creates a problem under New York state education law, however, according to Central District officials. A 1991 ruling by the state education commissioner prohibits districts from charging fees to fund athletic programs. The ruling reads, in part, that districts "lacked the authority to require students to pay a fee or make a donation to participate in interscholastic sports."
The ruling goes on to state that a district is banned from "engaging in activities that create the impression that it is requiring a payment of fees for students to participate in sports activities."
At press time, Greenwald said he received a letter from the Board of Education tentatively agreeing to fund the Bulldogs in 2008-09.
Comments about this story? SBrinton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 203.
