EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — East Palestine City Schools athletics is dodging serious cuts with help from a grant gifted by the giant retailer, Dick's Sporting Goods. The store announced it is on a mission to help out communities with 75 grants in honor of its 75th anniversary.
The district's athletic director, Dwayne Pavkovich, says the grant was ultimately a clutch play that is now helping the small village win big after so much loss. As Pavkovich explained, sports is a true East Palestine tradition and "the glue that keeps us together."
After the Norfolk Southern train derailment in February, Pavkovich says the district's athletic budget was cut by more than 50% with a total loss of $70,000.
"We host typically 13 track meets, but there's four that are very big. We have between 25 and 30 schools that attend those. That makes up as much as our incoming operating budget as football season does for us. So, the five football home games and the four in the four-track meets makeup about 80% of operations," said Pavkovich. "We don't deal with large budgets here in East Palestine. Everything that our athletic budget consists of is what we bring in through all that, all those income variables."
Without help, Pavkovich says the district and community teams would face cuts to help salvage its depleting budget. So, on a whim, Pavkovich reached out Dick's Sporting Goods to ask for help. As he explained, "They took it and ran with it."
Expecting no more than $10,000, Pavkovich’s team got a surprise. Dicks Sporting Goods awarded the district $75,000 in grant money as its 64th recipient.
"I didn't find out it was $75,000 until they actually had the announcement the day they were at the school," he said. "What they believe in they held true to and all the time in corporate America that's not always the case."
Pavkovich says the grant money will help address the athletic department's operation balance. However, he says $40,000 to $50,000 of the grant will be invested directly into the student-athletes to help prevent any burden on their participation. Whether it’s helping buy necessary sports gear or team apparel, Pavkovich says the money will be dedicated to helping make the students better, while also helping heal the East Palestine community.
