The Avonworth School Board is expected to vote Monday on whether to eliminate wrestling from the district’s cooperative sports agreement with Northgate, as recommended by the Avonworth board’s athletic committee.

The committee has proposed eliminating not only wrestling, but the ninth grade boys’ basketball program as well.

The wrestling program is one of four sports Avonworth shares with Northgate because neither school can field a team on its own. The other sports are track, swimming and golf. Each district pays half of the cost of each program.

The Avonworth board delayed a decision on wrestling last month in order to see how Northgate would decide the issue. Northgate’s school board voted unanimously to continue the sport.

According to Avonworth fiscal director Brad Waters, the wrestling program cost $25,000 in the 2008-09 school year. That cost was down to about $19,000 in 2009-10, he said, because the districts were unable to fill two assistant coaching positions.

The problems finding assistant coaches and what some officials consider low participation rates are the rationale for eliminating the wrestling program cited by Avonworth officials.

“Avonworth firmly believes, if you are going to have a sport, if you have a head coach, you better have an assistant” in case of emergencies, said Waters.

Should costs be a factor in Avonworth’s ultimate decision, head wrestling coach Todd Ford has offered to work for free, and the wrestling boosters have agreed to contribute.

Also under consideration for elimination at Avonworth is the ninth grade boys’ basketball team, which costs about $4,500 per year. Waters said that the committee discussed the fact that ninth grade girls play on the junior varsity team, and this same opportunity could be offered to the boys.

Waters said that both programs currently are funded in the proposed 2010-11 budget, and that cutting either or both would have no impact on the projected .6 mill tax increase Avonworth is considering.