ROCKFORD (WIFR) -- After months of debate, the Rockford school board will now vote on a sports plan to save the district money on next year’s budget.

Under the proposal, sports could operate under a tier system. The first tier includes sports like football, volleyball, and basketball with JV and varsity levels. Those will stay the same.

Second tier sports like boys and girls bowling, wrestling, competitive cheer, baseball and softball would maintain varsity and junior varsity teams.

Third tier sports – which includes boys and girls swimming, track, cross country, golf, tennis and soccer - would also have varsity and junior varsity teams and schools could work together to create co-op teams.

The committee decided not to cut freshman sports after all, but they do want to move forward in cutting athletic directors to save $420,000 dollars.

The central office athletic director will take on a few extra duties, become non-certified, and be paid about 30,000 dollars less.

Next year, there will also be five assistant principals. One of them will be specifically an assistant principal of athletics.

"It's not the best scenario, but we're cutting everywhere so what we need to do is have an opportunity. And because we have to do - I mean we basically contract somebody, we pay them for the year no matter what. So if we bring in four more AD's at 420,000 dollars certainly we would find stuff for them to do," Committee Chair Jude Makulec said.

At the middle school level, sixth grade sports teams could be eliminated. Those students could try out for their school's varsity and junior varsity teams.

Alternative transportation methods would provide additional savings.

The grand total in savings is about $430,000 dollars.