Prep’s Needy Could Be Hurt

Already bracing for dramatic belt-tightening when the state budget impasse is resolved, some local high school sports programs can expect to take another hit when a prominent community outreach program reallocates funds that had been used to provide medical insurance for needy athletes.

Twenty-three schools in Los Angeles and the South Bay had certified medical trainers last year who were sponsored by Team to Win, an organization funded by Centinela Hospital Medical Center that also made supplemental insurance available to athletes who could not afford to pay the premium on $1,500 in coverage required by the California Interscholastic Federation.

Money for insurance will be based on the percentage of students eligible for the state’s reduced-cost school lunch program. Schools where less than 20% of the students are in that program will not be offered the insurance provision beginning this fall.

Instead, Team to Win officials said, the money is being redirected to other, more needy schools, enabling some trainers to be available for 20 hours a week instead of 12.

“I don’t know if it’s going to be the answer long term, but I think we’re doing the right thing,” said Jill Sleight, director of Team to Win.

Team to Win officials would not confirm which high schools would lose insurance money, but based on the 20% criteria there appear to be six: El Segundo, Mira Costa, Torrance, North Torrance, South Torrance and West Torrance.

North Torrance, which last year had 17.7% of its students on the lunch program, probably used Team to Win’s medical insurance more than most, Athletic Director Gary Duperron said. But he understands the reason for the reallocation, which will be made official when Team to Win’s near $1-million budget is approved later this month.

“They’re trying to offer at least something to some schools, and that’s good, because they don’t have to offer anything,” Duperron said. “I think the biggest effect it’s going to have is [on the] parents who say they have insurance who don’t really have it, or people who have it and then lose it.... It’s bailed them out.”

Team to Win is one of several organizations that annually provide medical personnel and other services free of charge.

Sleight said her organization wishes it could afford to offer more help at a time when school budgets are being pinched.

“Do I want to cut anything from any of the schools I work with? No, and in ideal circumstances I wouldn’t,” she said. “We’re trying to help in the best way we can, and put the money where it’s needed most.”