The school district's ongoing sports self-study is continuing, and it is expected to be completed around mid-June, according to an update at the Board of Education's meeting on May 1.

At its meeting on February 20, the Board of Education heard a presentation by Athletic Director Matt Memoli about the plan to conduct a self-study of Newtown High School's athletic program. The decision to conduct a sports self-study came about following 2018-19 budget deliberations. Some discussions at budget meetings focused on equitability in funding for sports programs and other extracurricular activities.

Mr Memoli returned for the May 1 meeting.

Superintendent of Schools Dr Lorrie Rodrigue said she expects the self-study will help make the athletic program more consistent than it has been. She thanked Mr Memoli for his role in the study. Along with Mr Memoli, the committee includes NHS staff, coaches, parents, and students.

Mr Memoli said the committee has met three times, and it is working in subcommittees to work on research. One subcommittee is looking at accomplishments and the history of NHS sports, another is looking at the district's pay to participate program along with comparisons to other districts, and the third subcommittee is looking at how much money is spent per sport and whether the money comes from the district, the pay to participate fees, or fundraising.

"This is actually a lot of fun for me," said Mr Memoli, explaining that it will be helpful to learn from the information being collected.

The committee will continue to meet weekly, and Mr Memoli said he expects the study will be finished by mid-June to potentially help the school board make a decision around the pay to participate program ahead of the 2018-19 school year.