BEDFORD -- On a 5-3 vote, the Bedford County School Board axed a proposal to begin varsity lacrosse programs at Jefferson Forest High School despite claims from parents, coaches and students that it could be done at no cost to the school system.

Chairman Gary Hostutler, who represents the Forest District, brought the proposal to the board even though the body decided at a February work session the current economic situation did not make adding extracurricular activities-- specifically lacrosse at Jefferson Forest -- viable for the next school year.

"It is something I would love to do, but I am not in charge of the economy, and that is what causing the problem," Huddleston District representative David Black said.

Hostutler, Black and Big Island District representative Julie Bennington voted for the proposal.

Victor Clarke, president of the Forest Youth Athletic Association where 150 youth currently play lacrosse, estimated the first year cost to operate two boys teams and a girls team would be $39,200. The second year the costs would drop to $17,500.

The teams and parents would provide or raise all the funds needed, he said.

"We are not asking for one penny from Bedford County Schools," Clarke told the board Thursday. "If the money's not there, we will go back to being a club in Forest."

Because there is no lacrosse playing field at the high school, a field would have to be graded on a site at nearby Thomas Jefferson Elementary School. Clarke said the teams, parents and community would pay for that as well.

Vice-Chairwoman Debbie Hoback, one of five members who voted against the proposal, likened the situation to a cellphone she received as a birthday gift years ago.

"It was a great gift, but there are bills that came due after that," she said.

The unknown variables of a long-term commitment were the major factors in the proposal's demise.

In other school board news, the board voted to terminate 15 teaching positions, using its reduction in force policy that was updated in the fall. The division had anticipated cutting nearly 80 jobs but was able to trim the cuts to 33 with the help of federal stimulus money.