PLANNING & BUDGET
EMERGENT FUNDING NEEDS REQUEST
TEMPLATE
UNIT NAME: Athletics
DATE: 5/12/2009
UNIT MANAGER: Robert Mariucci, Director of Athletics
UNIT MANAGER’S
SIGNATURE:
Requested Allocation
Dollar Amount:
$30,000 (or as
needed per the
safety of our
students and
coaches/instructors
CHECK THE FOLLOWING:
Unit Plan
X
This request is for contracting bus service for athletic sports team travel.
APPW Request for Funding
X
Cluster Request for Funding
X
Date of Presentation to Planning & Budget Presentation: ____5/12/2009__________
Justification (Accreditation, safety, regulatory and etc.)
Background: Cuesta College sports teams travel in 15-passenger vans to away athletic
contests, with the exception of the track and swim teams in which the District contract busses,
due to the large numbers of student athletes. An individual/coach must posses a Class B
driver’s license in order to operate this type of vehicle. In addition, our coaches must hire
assistant coaches, who must also obtain a Class B license, in order to assist with the driving
responsibilities. Due to Cuesta’s location, in relation to the location of other colleges in our
conference, our coaches must travel long distances to compete against other colleges.
State Law has restrictions on the amount of hours an individual/coach may work in
conjunction with driving a 15-passenger vehicle. State law restricts the total number of “on-
duty” hours an individual can work before and/or after driving a 15-passange vehicle. There
have been questions in regards to the interpretation of this law and when and how these “on-
duty” hours are identified. Quite frequently, our staff is in violation of these state laws, due to
the amount of hours they work prior to driving the van or during the duration of the entire
trip and contest they are attending. This has been a major concern for the members of our
coaching staff and Athletic Department. By providing busses for these longer trips, we would
avoid the possibility for any of our coaches driving over the restricted limit, and more
importantly, putting the safety of our students and coaches in jeopardy.
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The most important aspect of this request is considering the safety of our students and staff.
We must do whatever we can to reduce any potential risk of injury to our students and staff;
and reduce the liability to the college, if any unfortunate incident would occur.
Concerns of driving 15-passenger vans and the length of our athletic trips have been a serious
concern with our coaches and department for many years. Research shows, that when 15-
passenger vans are filled to capacity, there is a significantly higher risk of rolling or the
inability to stop abruptly. We have been fortunate that we have not had a serious incident.
Although, we have had several incidents in which vans have broken down and students and
coaches have been stranded until a solution could be made or assistance arrived.
As the Director of Athletics, it is imperative that I bring these concerns forward and make sure
that administration understands the frustrations and potential dangers that exist in our
division. Personally, I believe it is imperative that we/the District address these concerns,
improve the conditions we currently have and act upon them to eliminate the potential risks.
Last year, our Department requested funds, for contracting bus services, and it was the
number one priority in our Cluster Prioritization process. Even though, no funds were
allocated, the concerns still exist and it continues to be a serious concern for our staff. I think
it has become even more evident, over the past few years, with the increasing enrollments of
our sports teams. Coaches have worked hard to increase enrollment, so in turn, are traveling
a larger number of athletes and trying to fit them into 1 or 2 vans. This year, again, funding
for bus services was the number one priority in our Cluster Prioritization. It is my hope that
we can allocate funds to provide some busses for some longer trips, to improve on these travel
concerns.
Needs Assessment: Evidence of need for this allocation.
This has been a major concern of the coaches and the Athletic Department for numerous
years. The extensive driving done by our coaches/instructors, in 15-passenger vans, has put
an enormous amount of anxiety and responsibility on the coaches and liability to the college.
Most importantly, the safety of our student athletes and coaches is of the most concern.
In the past, the Athletic Department has requested funds to hire hourly van drivers to assist
coaches with their driving responsibilities. Even though, we have not received those monies,
we have hired drivers, through fundraising monies, to ensure the safety of our students and
staff on long trips.
This past year, we even included quotes within our Athletics Unit Plan to purchase a bus for
the District. I have included those quotes. I do realize the costs of owning your own bus, is
simply an upfront expense. The cost of maintaining the bus and hiring a bus driver is other
expenses that would need to be discussed. Several other schools, such as Allan Hancock
College and Bakersfield College have minimized their use of 15-passenger vans, because of the
concerns I have mentioned. Allan Hancock has minimized the use of 15-passenger vans and
contracts out their athletic travel. Several years ago, they faced an incident/accident with a
team in a 15-passenger van, which led them to making the decision of funding athletic travel
with contracted bus service.
Attached Documents:
Information in regards to 15-passenger vans.
Information in regards to purchasing a bus.
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Impact: If request is not funded please explain consequences and impact.
This request of $30,000 will only allow our coaches/staff to travel safely on longer trips. By
no means, does this amount allow every sports team, or every coach to travel in busses,
although several colleges across the state do travel only in busses. If money is allocated for
contracted bus services, the Dean of Physical Education/Athletics and I would have to
determine what trips would warrant a bus. Thirty thousand dollars will only provide for only
15-20 bus trips throughout the entire year. That is why I stated that the safety of our student
athletes and coaches is the most important aspect of this request and concerns.
Last month, the baseball team was returning from Southern California and one of their vans
broke down in Santa Maria. The vans brakes were not working properly, so the team had to
pull over and put all the players into the two other vans they had. Coach Bob Miller called to
inform me of the incident and fortunately they were safe, not far from home, and they had two
other vans to get them home safely. The Men’s basketball team has traveled 14 players to San
Diego in 1 van, because they could not find an additional qualified person to drive another van
with a Class B license.
Dr. Cathleen Greiner has set up a meeting to discuss some of these concerns of the length of
specific trips, 15-passenger vans, and the protocol of when needing assistance.
Again, it is imperative that I express to this group the significance of the concerns from our
coaching staff and the importance of funding such a request. The request being made is a step
in the right direction. I believe we need to show our support and understanding of the
concerns that our coaching staff has been expressing for years. And that we understand the
demands and pressures of traveling in 15-passenger vans on such long trips and that the main
reason for the request is to provide safe travel for our students and staff.
COST/BENEFIT ANALYSIS
COSTS
ITEM DOLLAR AMOUNT
Initial Start up Cost $30,000 (or as needed per
the safety of our students
and coaches/instructors
Sustainable and Ongoing Costs $
Indirect Costs $
TOTAL $30,000 (or as needed per
the safety of our students
and coaches/instructors
BENEFITS
PROJECTED FTES PER YEAR N/A Athletics is a large
FTES generator
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FUNDING SOURCES DOLLAR AMOUNT LENGTH OF FUNDING
Check all that apply and provide dollar amount and length
of funding
Foundation $N/A
New Revenues $N/A
Reallocation of funds $N/A
Categorical $N/A
CTE $N/A
Chancellor’s Office $N/A
VTEA $N/A
Other: ______________________ $N/A
TOTAL FUNDING SOURCES $N/A
Planning & Budget Date
Approval
Denial
Reviewed and Endorsed by:
______________________________________
Cuesta College Vice President of Administrative Services
_____________________________________
Classified co-chair of Planning and Budget
______________________________________
Faculty co-chair of Planning and Budget
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