COKE CUTS FUNDING FOR DECATHLON QUITS ACADEMIC CONTEST AFTER SCHOOLS DECIDE TO DROP SODA.

Byline: Helen Gao Staff Writer

Just months before the Los Angeles Unified School District bans soda sales on campus, Coca-Cola has decided to end its 22-year sponsorship of the Academic Decathlon program, officials said Thursday.

Coca-Cola has been the main sponsor of the district's prestigious academic competition since 1981, contributing about $20,000 toward the awards banquet plus several hundred cases of soft drinks each year. Losing Coca-Cola as a sponsor will likely force the district to eliminate the banquet - a highlight of the decathlon program.

Coca-Cola spokesman Bob Phillips blamed the decision on rising business costs and denied it was prompted by the soda ban, which was adopted by the school board to combat the district's obesity epidemic. The ban is set to take effect Jan. 1.

``It's unfortunate,'' Phillips said. ``We wish we could support all the worthwhile activities. We have a lot of people come to our door looking for us to assist. We do a lot. You always wish you could do more.''

Board member Marlene Canter, who led the fight for the soda ban, called Coca-Cola's decision ``disappointing and upsetting.'' She noted Coca-Cola, which also owns Dasani bottled water, Minute Maid and Powerade, will continue to have a major presence on school campuses.

``I expect our vendors to rise to the occasion when it comes to looking at the health of our students,'' she said. ``It's unfortunate they would choose to have the kids suffer because we have decided to align what we buy with the health of our children.''

Canter said when she held a meeting with vendors regarding the soda ban, Coca-Cola representatives had stressed to her how much money schools would lose by eliminating soft drinks.

According to district officials, middle and high schools average $1.7 million a year in revenue from soft drink sales.

Phillips cited escalating workers' compensation and health-care costs, as well as a summer spike in gasoline prices, as reasons contributing to his company's decision to end the sponsorship.

``It's not a great situation to the extent how businesses like ours are saddled with other costs. It means we have less discretionary money to invest in the community,'' he said.

Cliff Ker, coordinator of the LAUSD Academic Decathlon program, said he is scrambling to find new sponsorships for the February banquet but that raising money has been difficult because of the economic downturn. The program costs $70,000 to $79,000 a year, with the banquet alone costing $20,000 to $25,000.

Aside from the banquet, Ker has to raise funds to pay for trophies, T-shirts for volunteers, scholarships, traveling expenses and other expenditures.

So far, Ker has received pledges totaling $25,000 from the Bank of America, California Credit Union and the Los Angeles Times.

``It's been so hard. I have talked to so many people,'' Ker said. ``I think they are really sincere in saying they would really like to help us, but they can't. It's a tough time for many people.''

Even without a banquet this year, Ker said there will be an awards ceremony and scholarships.

LAUSD has 59 Academic Decathlon teams. Each school has more than a dozen students who try out for the nine seats on each team. The students who end up being chosen for the team often represent the cream of the crop at their schools.

San Fernando Valley decathlon coaches who were told of Coca-Cola's decision Thursday said not having the awards banquet would be a big blow to the program.

Helen Gao, [phone]

helen.gao(at)dailynews.com

HOW TO HELP

--To donate to the Academic Decathlon program, send checks to the LAUSD Education Foundation, ATTN: Cliff Ker, Academic Decathlon, 333 S. Beaudry Ave., Los Angeles 90017. Parents can also contact individual high schools to provide financial support.

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