EDITORIAL: BOARD SHOULD CO-OP, BUT IS WISE TO WAIT
Five weeks ago, The Courier editorial titled, “Can we get a sports deal done already?” outlined why a cooperative between Freeman Public, Freeman Academy and Marion was the right move.
We stand by that opinion — that a partnership is long overdue, that it would do wonders for the relationship between the schools and the communities, and that it would be good for the student-athletes who would build a new identity together while competing at their age-appropriate level.
But the public meeting hosted by the Freeman School Board Monday night, March 22 revealed that waiting a year to make that move is the right call. The agreement, recently drafted by representatives from all three schools, shows a co-op in basketball, cross-country, golf, track and volleyball beginning next fall (Canistota/Freeman football and Marion/Freeman wrestling would remain intact).
For that to happen, the South Dakota High School Activities Association would have to rubber stamp the deal at the board of directors’ April 21 meeting.
That’s in less than a month.
Too many questions were raised by members of the public at Monday’s meeting with too few answers given by the district to sell the plan to those who may be on the fence. Because of that, waiting a year makes sense. While a partnership is not the public’s call to make and rather a board decision, school patrons are best served when they are assured that those who represent them have done their due diligence, especially when it comes to something as potentially divisive as a sports co-op.
What would participation numbers look like next year and in the years to come? There are never any guarantees, of course, but some data would be nice to see.
What would the financial impact of a co-op be? The agreement proposed by the three schools shows a 50/30/20 split between Freeman Public, Marion and Freeman Academy. But what are the real numbers for new uniforms, travel costs and coaching?
What about a move to Class A? Is that really a big deal? Where would the co-op likely fall in terms of size, who would the competition likely be and how different would that really be from Class B? There are ways to determine those things that could temper some concerns about the co-op being “out of its league,” as some fear.
And how do students and families feel about the move? Again, it’s not their call, but getting some feedback might be helpful in understanding what the impact of the co-op would be, both good and bad. If nothing else, it would help them feel like they are part of the process, and their opinion is valued. That certainly counts for something.
Board member Mark Miller said Monday night that he has never regretted taking more time when making a decision, and that is the right approach here. With two new board members coming on at Freeman Public this July and an upcoming change in administration at both Freeman Public and Marion, slowing the process down to make sure it’s done right just makes sense. Freeman Public can compete again as Flyers in 2021-22 and Marion and Freeman Academy will presumably play another year together as the Bearcats. As Steve Friesen, a former member and president of the Freeman School Board, said at Monday’s meeting, what’s the harm in waiting? Friesen was also on record as in favor of the cooperative.
That was the general takeaway from Monday’s meeting, which did exactly what it was supposed to do: provide the public insight into what a partnership would look like (and, as it turns out, what questions remain) and also give the board some direction based on patron response.
The Courier reaffirms its support of a cooperative but agrees that the window is too narrow to put something in place by the fall of 2021. Instead of acting now and figuring it out later, therefore risking public resistance that could take any number of forms, it’s best to take time to gather as much data as possible, engage in productive dialogue with the public and move with the best foot forward, together. And a sincere commitment to move forward in earnest should also be part of the next phase.
The good news in all of this is that the groundwork has been laid for future discussions that will hopefully lead to a brand-new sports cooperative in the fall of 2022, when a new era of local sports would finally begin.
Jeremy Waltner | Publisher & Editor
