Ledyard - Some students at Ledyard High School have had fewer extracurricular options this year, the result of education cuts during the 2014-15 budget process.

Freshman boys' soccer, boys' swimming and golf were eliminated, as was the printing budget and adviser stipend for The Colonel, the school's magazine.

"For me personally, the core educational program comes first," said Board of Education finance subcommittee chairman Gordon Strickland. With only a few weeks to remove $495,000 from the education budget, he said, the board focused on extracurricular programs that had low participation.

Some of the cuts were later reversed, he added: a science teacher was eliminated from the middle school but then added back as a part-time position, for example. Magnet school transportation was originally reduced but then reinstated.

'It hurts'

"When you have some programs taken away, it hurts," said high school Athletic Director Jim Buonocore. "Sports is an integral part of a student's everyday life."

Buonocore said he understood that the school board had to find cuts in the budget.

While boys' freshman soccer was not offered this fall and it does not look as if golf will be offered in the spring, Buonocore said that high school boys will still have the opportunity to join a swim team.

Thanks to the efforts of what Principal Amanda Fagan called "a very enthusiastic and committed group" of parents, Ledyard students will be able to participate in a boys' swimming co-op with Norwich Free Academy when the season starts on Dec. 1.

"Both schools are going to benefit from this cooperative agreement," said Buonocore. While high school students gain the opportunity to participate in a sport no longer funded by the school board, NFA students are "getting a very nice facility out of it" - the pool at the Mashantucket Pequot Community Center that Ledyard reserved before the budget cuts.

The districts will split costs for facility rentals, transportation and coaching, among other fees, but Ledyard's costs will be paid by parents rather than the school board.

Although the magazine saw its printing budget eliminated and is no longer an after-school club, Fagan said the changes have actually been exciting for students.

The Colonel is now a digital-only publication housed at colonelnews.com. Students were able to design a new Wordpress-based website, said Fagan, and no longer are restricted to publishing content only once a month.

The online format allows students to publish more senior spotlight pieces and address school news in a more timely manner.

That's been "been kind of a really fun piece," said Fagan. "So far actually the kids are doing a beautiful job of it."

"We're finding our way," said Fagan, emphasizing that the school is working around the budget cuts to find new ways to offer opportunities to students.

k.catalfamo@theday.com

Twitter: @kccatalfamo