5 Jun 2013

Sport: Funding cut for school sports programmes in American Samoa

10:54 am on 5 June 2013

The Department of Education in American Samoa has drastically cut funding for sports programmes starting in the next school year.

The Education director Dr. Salu Hunkin-Finau says that in recent years its athletics budgets have been cut from yearly appropriations, causing budget overruns every year.

This year, she says the education leadership streamlined the extra-curricular sports programme, which reduced the department's year costs from US$170,000 to $30,000.

Dr Hunkin-Finau says the 10 percent across the board reduction for all government departments and the 5 percent cost reduction in the federal Consolidated Grant, has further reduced the Department's financial resources, making the changes unavoidable.