High school athletes in Williams Lake won’t be feeling the brunt of July’s news that the B.C. Liberal government had pulled its operating grant to B.C. School Sports (BCSS), the organization responsible for the delivery of high school sports programs across the province.

Instead, during a Sept. 24 discussion at a School District 27 board meeting, the board decided to support the provincial sports organization to ensure things go smoothly, at least for now.

On Sept. 17, Sue Keenan, executive director of B.C. School Sports, requested in a letter addressed to school districts province-wide that financial assistance be delivered to the organization.

The provincial government’s cancelled grant to BCSS was worth $130,000 annually, and represented 29 per cent of its overall funding.

Keenan called the news “devastating,” and BCSS was left scrambling to come up with a way to deliver its services for the remainder of the year.

The Sept. 17 letter states: “I would like to request the following financial assistance from all B.C. School Districts in light of the recent devastating budget cuts imposed by the B.C. Government.

“For districts with a student population of over 10,000 - $3,000. For districts with a student population of under 10,000 - $1,500.

“These much needed funds will get us to the end of the school year.”

School District 27 falls within the under-10,000 student population.

At the Sept 24 meeting, the board passed a motion to support BCSS and agreed to deliver $1,500 to the organization.

“This year, my understanding is it will be business as usual [for BCSS],” says Bonnie Roller, secretary treasurer for School District 27. “From what I understand, this is a stopgap measure for this year only.”

However, during the board’s discussion, SD 27 trustee Will Van Osch said he was against making the donation to BCSS because the district would be taking on a responsibility that should lie with the provincial government.

His concern was, by making the donation, the district would be “patching a hole that we shouldn’t necessarily be patching.”

SD 27 trustee Richard Elliott said he had the same concerns as Van Osch. But after hearing an explanation about the organization’s role in supporting regional and provincial school tournaments from SD 27 superintendent Diane Wright and Roller, he joined chair Pete Penner and trustee Heather McKenzie in supporting the donation.

Keenan said BCSS is remaining optimistic, and hopes to get an idea how the 425 schools across the province would like to move forward at an emergency meeting scheduled for Oct. 24 in Vancouver.

“My hope is the schools aren’t feeling any impact right now,” Keenan said. “We’re doing everything we can to make it business as usual.”

BCSS organizes 47 provincial championships and multiple regional events annually for more than 100,000 student athletes in 18 sports.

And, without the government grant, Keenan said she’s worried the organization may not be able to continue to offer all of its services.

“I don’t think we’re going to get any help from the government — absolutely none,” she said.

“We’re looking at other ways to address this crisis. It may affect students [in the long run] in terms of financial burdens. But our membership will decide that in October at our emergency meeting.”