SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio — Amid development of a much larger long-term recreation plan for the city, the idea of creating a “youth sports administrator” position with the school district has led to some spirited discussion on council.
During a Nov. 12 work session on 2025 city budget expenditures, Councilman Sean Malone proposed setting aside $35,000 for the new job.
Malone suggested placing the position within the Shaker school district — which might be persuaded to pay the other half of the proposed salary.
Meanwhile, the City Planning Department will host two public forums next week seeking input in the next phase of the Recreation Strategic Plan, scheduled for completion in March.
The first session will be held virtually from 6 to 7 p.m. Monday (Dec. 2) on Zoom, with the link available at https://shakerheightsoh.gov/867/Recreation-Strategic-Plan.
The second meeting will be an in-person community workshop two days later on Wednesday (Dec. 4) from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Community Building (STJCB), 3450 Lee Road.
Residents can weigh in on options for five main community sites under review:
- Chelton Park
- Shaker Heights Middle School
- The STJCB quadrant
- Thornton Park
- Hildana Park
The largest site is the current Shaker Middle School campus, which will not be available for several years as it continues to be used as swing space for students in various grades while their buildings undergo major renovations.
In pitching his idea, Malone pointed out that many of the athletic programs to be offered will operate out of the new middle school at the former Woodbury Intermediate building, as well as the high school.
“The bottom line is that most of these facilities are school district-owned and we need to have buy-in from them — which has been one of the challenges,” Malone said.
One jointly-funded component is already in place, he added, in the form of the Shaker Heights Youth Center, which dates back to 1970 and currently operates out of the STJCB.
“I do believe that improving recreation and participation rates will benefit not just our kids but our community,” Malone said.
“And youth sports can be a very challenging thing for parents to navigate in this day and age.”
Aside from just sports, the new administrator could also work with both Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) departments to help kids with homework, make connections with peers and adults, Malone said.
Support is there
The money is already in the city’s budget, which Councilwoman Nancy Moore noted has a healthy cash reserve.
“Given that, along with our strategic plan and direction, I believe that recreation can be the great leveler,” Moore said.
“It’s the one place where kids and families all get together and we really are one community, regardless of age and economic strata.”
Moore thinks the city and the school district should start planning now in terms of how this all might look in the framework of “Forward Together,” the joint venture among taxing entities in the city to share facilities and programs.
Councilwoman Tenille Kaus believes the Shaker Public Library should also be included in the plans, as the third member of Forward Together.
“I want to support youth, but my concern lies with it being housed in the schools as opposed to the city, where it could be more inclusive,” Kaus said. “Otherwise, that limits it to the age group that the schools serve.”
While the library doesn’t have athletic fields and facilities, Kaus believes the library’s meeting rooms could serve well for programs like Tae Kwon Do.
Kaus also cited overlaps already with the city and the library both offering yoga classes, which she called “unintentional redundancies.”
After hearing complaints from residents — especially those with children — Councilwoman Kim Bixenstine said she would support the proposal.
“I also hear complaints about the fields and facilities, along with frustration that the city will say it’s the schools’ issue and the schools will say it’s the city’s issue,” Bixenstine said.
“And they don’t want to hear that — they want us to work together with the schools.”
‘Pilot’ of sorts
While there are larger needs in city recreation that will require more capital funds, Bixenstine said this is something they could do now to address some of the practical issues with facilities and fields.
“I would also like to see us do more things for our youth in the non-sports world, as well as our seniors,” Bixenstine said. “But I don’t think that’s a reason not to do this because I feel there’s a felt and concrete need for such a position.”
“And it would be kind of a ‘pilot,’ if you will.”
While he doesn’t have a vote on council, Mayor David Weiss mentioned some reservations about the structure and scope of the proposal, as well as “the responsibilities of this person.”
It may not solve all of the issues at hand, but Weiss does agree with Bixenstine that treating it as a pilot program might be the way to approach it.
Pointing out that she was the only dissenter to Malone’s proposal on the city’s Recreation Committee, Vice Mayor Carmella Williams said that it’s not that she doesn’t see the value of the proposed position.
“The reality is that kids just need things to do,” she said. “And not every child is a student athlete.”
Carmella Williams wants to look at the issue through “a DEI lens” as well as with input from the city’s “Listening Project” on some matters and needs that are not “policing-related but are definitely community building items.”
She would also like to see what the Recreation Strategic Plan has in store.
Thanking everyone for their “incredibly insightful comments,” Councilwoman Anne Williams said she has some concerns about the proposal, “but nothing that would prevent me from suggesting that this move forward.”
Also a supporter of Malone’s proposal, Councilman Ifeolu A.C. Claytor said “I don’t want my colleagues to let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”
Noting that “youth sports administrator” may not be the most appropriate title, Claytor said that he does favor “anything we can do to provide more opportunities for our young people and older residents.”
Like Malone, he noted that the funds would not need to be spent right away.
“But I think having it earmarked becomes a good first step in creating the conversation with the school district,” in that it provides more of a commitment on the city’s part, Claytor said.
Malone said he does not see a need for the city to “micromanage” this process.
“It’s a shared challenge,” Malone said. “And our facilities management is going to become even more challenged in years to come.”
Council was scheduled to continue its 2025 budget work sessions this week.
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