KINGSLEY — Months of debate and discussion over a sports-sharing agreement between the Kingsley-Pierson and River Valley school districts came to a quick, quiet end on Monday, April 8.
The Kingsley-Pierson School District Board of Education voted to end the agreement at the end of this school year, except for football. The two districts will continue to field a combined team this fall. It will be reevaluated at the end of the season.
School board members had little to say on the issue, and voted after two local residents offered brief comments. Megan Plendl made a motion to cease sharing sports, except for football, and Lindsay Smit seconded the motion.
Plendl and Smit were joined by board President Jason Collins and board member Curtis Motz in voting to end it. Board member Phillip Herbold, who said at the March meeting he was reluctant to go back on the agreement K-P made with River Valley, abstained.
“There’s going to be ramifications for the move, certainly financially and morally, backing out of an agreement,” Herbold said.
Collins said the board was responding to the wishes of the people it represents.
“This is just listening to the community,” he told The Le Mars Sentinel after the meeting.
The community did make its view clear, as more than 150 people attended the March board meeting, with the vast majority wanting the agreement ended. More than 100 people were in attendance on April 8, although the discussion was brief and not nearly as passionate.
“I think it’s certainly a learning experience for the board,” Collins said after the vote.
Kingsley-Pierson and River Valley had shared junior high sports before, and a year ago, the two districts agreed to combine their football program. That meant it would play 11-man football.
In October, other sports were merged, with the exception of volleyball, and the boys’ and girls’ basketball programs moved from Class 1A to 2A. K-P also has a sharing agreement with Woodbury Central for track.
The decision to share sports with River Valley was in part an effort to be a good neighbor, Motz said at the March meeting.
Deidre Battorff, one of two people who signed up to speak, said there was “such a thing as being too good a neighbor.”
Battorff said she has children in the district. Some are gifted athletes, while others mainly want to be part of a team. That’s why she lives in the district, to ensure her kids have a small-school experience.
Her daughter has been a member of the softball team for years, but might have trouble making the roster for a shared team. It’s her favorite sport, and she doesn’t want to deprive her of that opportunity.
But Battorff admitted the young people are adapting.
“The kids are great,” she said. “It’s more of a parents’ thing.”
Roger Wilcox, who also spoke, said the increased travel worried him. Athletes are now traveling more, and that means there is more potential risk, Wilcox said.
“I just don’t like the safety aspect of it,” he said.
After Wilcox spoke, the board moved to end the agreement, except for football. Superintendent Scott Bailey said the districts made an agreement with the Iowa High School Athletic Association, which schedules games, for two years. That will be adhered to before the question of a shared football program is addressed in late 2024.
Kathy Kindig, who has grandchildren in the school district, said she was pleased that the sports-sharing agreement will come to an end.
Chad Utesch, who wore a Panthers wrestling jacket, said he was relieved this was put to rest. Utesch said the board’s decision will be welcomed by the community.
“Just glad they made the right one,” he said.
Father and son Jeff and Jake Collins were smiling when they left the meeting at the school library.
“I think they finally got the message,” Jeff said.
He said the agreement was not supported by everyone, but the manner in which it was reached — “an under-the-table kind of deal,” he said — was the cause of so much outcry.
They said the problem with sports was forcing Kingsley-Pierson and River Valley teams to compete with 2A schools. It just wasn’t working, Jake Collins said.
Landon Howe, a K-P sophom*ore who plays baseball and basketball, said he agreed with the decision. Howe said basketball is his favorite sport, and the combined team was moved from 1A to 2A, which made it difficult to compete with larger schools.
“I’m glad they’re getting rid of it,” Howe said.
Two members of the River Valley Board of Education, Jessica Wilson and Jacie Pyle, were at the meeting. They wore grim expressions and typed several text messages, but declined to comment when asked their thoughts on the K-P school board’s decision.
