The following response was posted on the Sumner County school’s website, www.sumnerschools.or, in the Rumor Watch section.

Updated January 23, 2012

Rumor: Is Sumner County Schools considering removing all fourth period athletics from the school day? I have also heard the School Board will be considering cutting coaches pay and supplements.

Fact: We are not discussing eliminating athletics from the school day. However, we are discussing limiting the number of times a student can take athletics during the school day in their high school career. Currently, a student can take athletics or physical education based courses potentially 8 times with a combination of credit and non-credit courses from their possible 32 high school credits. This means a fourth of a student's high school career could be spent taking physical education or athletics. Because Tennessee's new high school standards take affect for next year's graduates (2013), the SCS administration is attempting to strike a balance between academics and athletics. This topic will be discussed during the Board's February 7 Study Session. Any changes made by the district would not take effect until the 2013-2014 school year.

There have been no discussions about cutting the pay or supplements for coaches.