A proposal to co-op sports, speech and one act with Exeter-Milligan failed on a 3-3 vote by the Friend Public Schools Board of Education Sept. 12. A 4-2 or better vote was required to pass the measure.
The proposed cooperative agreement with Exeter-Milligan was to combine activities for a period of two years.
Board members Tiffany Shonerd, Scott Spohn and Megan Weber voted in favor of the co-op, and Jamie Tuttle, Nancy Vossler and Tyler Bartels voted against.
The board consists of six members, with all members having the right to vote according to the FPS Board of Education bylaws, thereby creating no means for breaking a tie vote.
The topic of a sports co-op was initially discussed at the board’s January meeting with regard to spring sports, speech, one act and wrestling. As a result, coaches from the two schools held a joint meeting.
The coaches determined it would be too difficult to co-op for one act with cast members also being actively involved in two separate basketball teams to juggle trying to work around two game and practice schedules.
In July, the coaches presented their co-op proposal to both the Friend and Exeter-Milligan boards, and an activities committee was formed. The committee scheduled a vote for September – early enough to give administrative staff time to make necessary changes for the following season if the vote was successful.
A special joint district informational meeting was held Aug. 31 at Friend High School at which board members from both schools were present to hear thoughts from community members before casting their votes on the matter at each board’s respective September meeting.
A former Friend board member, multi-district substitute teacher, many parents from both districts and a handful of Exeter-Milligan students spoke about the positive changes a cooperative agreement would bring to student athletes and fine art members of both school districts.
All Friend board members were present for the Sept. 12 meeting, along with superintendent Derek Anderson, principal Liz Stutzman and business manager Michelle Johnson-Clouse.
Exeter-Milligan principal Laura Kroll also attended the meeting, along with more than 50 members of both communities including alumni, current teachers, students and parents.
Attendees were each given five minutes to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting. Eight members of the community approached the board including former board member Paul Segner, Friend student and athlete Will Vyhnalek, Friend athletic director Jim Pfeifer, Nick Svehla, Christy Svehla, Janell Gordon, Chelsea Graves and Adam Gordon.
One speaker opposed the co-op stating, “Once a Bulldog, always a Bulldog.” The others pleaded with board members to vote yes and pointed to the research done, opportunity, increased healthy competition and the need to vote based on facts rather than emotions.
Prior to the vote, board members each gave a statement explaining their processes in reaching their decision. They cited the overwhelming amount of contacts they each received from concerned members of the school district and community, and their concerns for and against the proposal.
Shonerd said she is on a mission to create pathways for growth and this would be a small step in a staircase of opportunity.
Tuttle said this is the most communication she has received from members of the district in all of her six years on the board, but that she wanted more clarity in the agreement and has concerns that if a co-op is reached, numbers may not change. Tuttle said she believes the matter should be delayed to conduct a district survey to allow for transparency, grace and respect of all those involved.
Vossler said she felt the proposal was a good outline but that details need to be clearly defined with established guidelines. She gave an example of identifying which school is responsible for maintaining expenses for fields and courts. She said she felt pushed to make a decision and that more planning is needed.
Spohn said everyone on the board has put countless hours into researching and meeting on the subject. He urged members to put faith in the process, trust the administration to make sound decisions based on logic and to vote on facts rather than emotions.
Bartels said it was great to see the level of passion Friend has for its school system and the youth of the community. He said he felt it was unclear what Exeter-Milligan’s level of commitment is for a long-term plan with an end goal of consolidating the districts versus just co-oping activities for two years.
Weber said she wants to maximize opportunities for all children, and although it makes her uncomfortable, growth requires change. Weber also said she was fearful the Friend district would be backed into a hole if board members voted “no.”
“The proposal that we voted on was presented to us by our coaches with full support by our administration, AD (athletic director), the previous school board president with 13 years experience, and over 90% of the patrons who provided comment during the meetings on the subject,” Spohn said after the meeting. “The proposal was intentionally left vague on the details of the day-to-day execution so that our people in the trenches – the administration, the coaches and athletic directors – can make sound logical decisions on what makes the most sense for the students. We (the board of education) are not here to babysit the minute details of when to take a bus over a van; we need to allow the experts dealing with it day in and day out to make those kinds of decisions. There were a lot of kids in tears last night, and I wish the members that voted against this proposal stayed to see the immediate impact of their decisions on these kids. At this point we need to move forward with whatever that looks like.”
The Exeter-Milligan board of education will meet Sept. 14. It is unknown if they will still decide to cast their votes on the cooperative agreement given the outcome in Friend.
“Friend will continue with the existing co-op for softball and football,” Anderson said. “I plan to continue to work with Mr. Sheffield (superintendent of Exeter-Milligan) to continue to grow our working relationship.”
