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Like all consumers, Jerry Linn couldn't be happier with the falling gas prices, which have recently tumbled below the two-dollar mark at most local pumps.
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But the Beaufort High School athletics director admits that this decline came about two months too late, as the previously high costs made for a few extra dents in the school's spending during the fall sports season.
"I really didn't expect much of an impact until the spring, because that's how it usually is," Linn said. "But I followed how much we were paying for bus travel and there was a bit higher impact on our budget than usual in the fall."
Out of the estimated $66,800 allocated to Beaufort High's athletic travel budget, Linn said about $21,000 was used during the fall, which is about five percent higher than the norm.
Still, the current prices at the pump have athletic departments singing a slightly better tune than they were at the beginning of the school year.
"I imagine they are probably a little better off, and if things were really bad, I'd have heard about it by now," said Bill Evans, supervisor of athletics for the Beaufort County School District. "I know all of the athletic directors are still cognizant of their budgets being a little bit tighter this year, but, knock on wood, it seems like gas prices won't go back to being as high as they were in August anytime soon."
By Evans' estimate, about 80 percent of the gas budget allocated to each of the four public high schools goes to sports, leaving nearly $66,800 each for Battery Creek and Beaufort's athletic travel, and around $70,200 for Bluffton and Hilton Head Island high schools due to their outside location. Two activity buses, which run on diesel fuel, are also provided for each school.
These monies can increase should extra revenue be generated from gate sales. But with gas prices still fluctuating during the fall and none of the football teams making it past the first round of the playoffs, the potential spike from visiting gates and postseason games were minimal.
"We certainly had a better revenue year in football than in some recent years, and hosting the Beaufort game was a tremendous help," Battery Creek athletics director John Drafts said after the football team snapped a 28-game losing streak to go 4-7 and make the playoffs, "but on the downside, some of the visiting crowds, especially at the Lake Marion game, weren't that great because of the gas prices and rainy weather."
Now, programs will enter the more taxing winter and spring seasons, where the number of sports, size of rosters and potential for weather-related cancellations increases. As a result, Drafts said he is being "cautiously optimistic" while Linn is "thinking outside the box" by entertaining ideas like traveling the boys and girls basketball teams together.
"Of course, that puts more responsibility on coaches to supervise if we had boys and girls on the same bus," Linn said. "But it all depends on the circumstances and we're still running those things by our principal."
As for Bluffton athletics director Dave Adams, the approach remains one of wisdom and frugality as the economy continues to spiral just as quickly as gas prices.
"I remember asking ADs in the past what they do with their budgets, and they all basically said that you do what you can do in the fall and winter, and know that once you get to spring, there might be a shortfall," Adams said. "But we're always looking for ways to save money and make the right decisions, like encouraging coaches to schedule games closer so kids can get back earlier to finish their homework.
"We might have panicked some back in August, but I think, or at least I'm hoping, that it was one of those momentary scares."
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