When the Stewardson-Strasburg School Board voted four-3 no longer to renew its sports activities co-op with Windsor on May 30, it appeared next season would be the closing for the Hatchets.
But as an alternative, the two colleges were given together and hammered out a settlement. On Wednesday, both colleges’ forums voted at their respective colleges to accept a new sports activities co-op settlement adequate without delay.
Stew-Stras superintendent Michele Lindenmeyer stated her faculty board requested her in July to satisfy Windsor superintendent Erik Van Hoven.
“They desired us to provide you with what we notion would be great and gift it to the boards, and either they’ll like, or it stroll away,” stated Lindenmeyer.
Van Hoven stated the one’s talks went nicely.
“We had a few good conversations, and I knew what my board desired, and she or he knew what her board wanted,” Van Hoven stated. “When we had been performed, we felt love. It changed into attainable for both boards.”
The result became what Lindenmeyer stated turned into an “intergovernmental agreement that addressed several of the worries expressed.
“We took the old settlement, struck out the matters that did not work, and wrote some new language to make it paintings optimistically,” Lindenmeyer said.
Windsor’s board surpassed the proposal 6-0 with one member no longer gift; the Stew-Stras board handed it 6-1.
Since it replaces the previous co-op settlement and IHSA co-ops are, via the rule, two-yr agreements, this co-op agreement runs via the 2019-2020 college 12 months.
“We took the technique that we have tried to address a number of the worries and make it higher, so why make it a year to improve it?” Lindenmeyer said. “If we’ve got a plan, why no longer put in force it, and so it started nowadays (Thursday).”
Lindenmeyer stated the main changes had been in transportation expenditures, host schools, and chain of command language.
“What we, in reality, tried to do is take matters that have been issued in the past and find some approaches to treat it,” said Lindenmeyer. “There became a lot of confusion, and that wasn’t everyone’s fault; it, it had not been articulated. We included it within the agreement so that human beings knew if there had been problems or troubles — where do they pass, who do they communicate to, and what is the following step within the chain?”
The IHSA requires a host school in a co-op agreement. Per the new settlement, the host school will do it all instead of sharing everything down the line — like inside the previous territory.
“The host college will be in fee of coaches, all expenses and get the sales for that sport,” stated Van Hoven. “I assume it will make it a little bit cleaner.”
Windsor now hosts golf, volleyball, softball, cheer, and dance; Stew-Straus hosts boys, girls, andd baseball.
Previously, Windsor hosted boys basketball, baseball, cheer, dance, and golf, while Stew-Stras hosted volleyball, girls basketball, and softball.
The first WSS sports activities co-op agreement was made in May 2014 for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. The co-op became accepted in 2014 at 7-zero at Stew-Straus and 5-2 at Windsor.
“From the out-of-doors looking in, it (the sports activities co-op) isn’t going to look any one-of-a-kind than it ever has,” said Lindenmeyer. “The only difference is the mechanisms on the interior. You should no longer know who the host school is because it needs to be transparent becauset we’re doing 50/50 video games and 50/50 practices. It is still the Hatchets and the identical colors.”
Both schools had either started or have been about to begin scheduling basketball games for the 2019-20 season without the sports activities co-op and now can achieve this with the co-op.
