Beresford School DistrictPublic Input—Future of Cooperative

Athletic Agreements

Special School Board MeetingHigh School Chorus Room

March 5, 20127:00 p.m.

March 5—Board Meeting Agenda

1. Call meeting to order: roll call and establish quorum. 2. Superintendent’s comments. 3. Adopt agenda. (m) 4. Set ground rules for the evening. 5. Review current enrollments and the new 12-member conference

schools, effective for the 13-14 school year. 6. Review informational presentation on the possibility of future

cooperative athletic agreements in certain sports with Alcester/Hudson.

7. Public input and questions regarding the future of cooperative athletic agreements.

8. Review the next steps. 9. Adjourn. (m)

Superintendent Comments

First of all, the Beresford School Board has made no recommendation or decision on the future of cooperative athletic agreements with Alcester/Hudson Schools.

The Board has called for tonight’s special meeting to discuss the possibility of future cooperative athletic agreements in certain sports with Alcester/Hudson.

The Board has set aside time for public input and questions so the Board is encouraging our student/athletes, coaches, parents, and community members to share input and/or ask questions this evening.

Superintendent Comments

On January 19, at the request of Alcester/Hudson administration, Beresford School District Activities Director Kent Anderson and Superintendent Brian Field met with Alcester/Hudson Activities Director Mike Seivert and Superintendent Shane Voss at Beresford Schools to discuss the possibility of future cooperative athletic agreements in certain sports.

At the meeting, Alcester/Hudson expressed concerns regarding their declining enrollment and participation numbers in certain sports and Beresford expressed concerns over their participation numbers in several activities and their enrollment numbers in the new 12-member Big Sioux Conference.

Superintendent Comments

Alcester/Hudson stated they were interested in the possibility of a cooperative agreement with Beresford Schools in the following sports: cross country, wrestling, junior high football, and track and field.

The cooperative athletic agreement topic was an agenda item and was discussed by the Beresford School Board at their regularly scheduled meeting on February 13.

At the meeting, it was recommended by Superintendent Field that the Board host a special public meeting to seek input and/or receive questions from our public. That is the purpose of our meeting tonight.

Background Information Prior to Public Input

Highlight our enrollment rank in the new 12-member Big Sioux Conference, effective for the 13-14 school year;

Discuss why the new conference is in our best geographic interest;

Review current participation numbers for Beresford and Alcester/Hudson athletic programs;

Review sports for consideration for a cooperative agreement;  

Background Information Prior to Public Input

Discuss the impact a cooperative agreement would have on class affiliation;

Review South Dakota High School Activities Association (SDHSAA) conditions, philosophy, and guidelines for cooperatives;

Review pros and cons of a cooperative agreement; and most importantly

Allow our public an opportunity to ask questions and provide input into the possibility of a future cooperative agreement in certain sports with Alcester/Hudson.

Ground Rules for the Evening

Everyone who participates and speaks this evening will be expected to adhere to the following ground rules: You are here to listen and be open-minded. You are welcome to speak during public input time, to express your point

of view and/or ask questions but first need to be recognized by the board president who is responsible for maintaining order.

You are not here to be adversarial and/or browbeat individuals that express their personal views that you disagree with, be that student/athletes, parents, coaches, community members, administrators or school board members.

You will be limited to a maximum of two minutes if you elect to speak. There will be no board action but the board may ask questions for

clarification purposes to further understand a point of view. The Board president has the authority to terminate the remarks of any

individual when they do not adhere to the ground rules.

Big Sioux Conference Beginning in the 13-14 School Year

12 ConferenceSchools

ADMGrades 9-11(Jan., 2011)

Enrollment Rank in Conference

Enrollment Rank in State

West Central 296.906 1 22Vermillion 290.856 2 23Madison 250.313 3 24Tea Area 246.455 4 25

Dakota Valley 231.315 5 30Dell Rapids 216.282 6 32

Lennox 210.857 7 33Tri-Valley 197.178 8 36

Canton 195.905 9 37Elk Point/Jefferson

182.405 10 41

Sioux Falls Christian

177.457 11 42

Beresford 145.460 12 4812 Conference

SchoolsADM

Grades 9-11Out of 12 Schools Out of 180 Schools

FootballParticipation Numbers—Fall 2011

Football 12 11 10 9 9-12 Total

8 7 7-8 Total

7-12 Total

Beresford 12 8 11 9 40 12 14 26 66

Alcester/Hudson

8 3 3 6 20 7 6 13 33

Totals 20 11 14 15 60 19 20 39 99

Girls Cross CountryParticipation Numbers—Fall 2011

Girls XC 12 11 10 9 9-12 Total

8 7 7-8 Total

7-12 Total

Beresford 1 1 2 2 6 5 5 10 16

Alcester/Hudson

0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 2

Totals 1 1 3 2 7 5 6 11 18

Boys Cross CountryParticipation Numbers—Fall 2011

Boys XC 12 11 10 9 9-12 Total

8 7 7-8 Total

7-12 Total

Beresford 2 2 1 5 10 1 3 4 14

Alcester/Hudson

2 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 3

Totals 4 2 1 6 13 1 3 4 17

VolleyballParticipation Numbers—Fall 2011

Volleyball 12 11 10 9 9-12 Total

8 7 7-8 Total

7-12 Total

Beresford 5 6 8 11 30 16 14 30 60

Alcester/Hudson

5 5 5 6 21 5 4 9 30

Totals 10 11 13 17 51 21 18 39 90

Boys GolfParticipation Numbers—Fall/Spring 2011

Boys Golf 12 11 10 9 9-12 Total

8 7 7-8 Total

7-12 Total

Beresford Class A—fall

2 1 2 0 5 0 3 3 8

Alcester/Hudson

Class B—spring

X X X X 3 X X 4 7

Totals X X X X 8 X X 7 15

WrestlingParticipation Numbers—Winter 11-12

Wrestling 12 11 10 9 9-12 Total

8 7 7-8 Total

7-12 Total

Beresford 6 2 8 4 20 3 3 6 26

Alcester/Hudson

4 0 0 3 7 1 0 1 8

Totals 10 2 8 7 27 4 3 7 34

Girls BasketballParticipation Numbers—Winter 11-12

Girls Basketball

12 11 10 9 9-12 Total

8 7 7-8 Total

7-12 Total

Beresford 6 5 6 8 25 8 12 20 45

Alcester/Hudson

3 1 7 2 13 5 5 10 23

Totals 9 6 13 10 38 13 17 30 68

Boys BasketballParticipation Numbers—Winter 11-12

Boys Basketball

12 11 10 9 9-12 Total

8 7 7-8 Total

7-12 Total

Beresford 5 2 8 11 26 11 9 20 46

Alcester/Hudson

6 0 0 4 10 7 3 10 20

Totals 11 2 8 15 36 18 12 30 66

Girls Track and FieldParticipation Numbers—Spring 2011

Girls Track

12 11 10 9 9-12 Total

8 7 7-8 Total

7-12 Total

Beresford 5 8 6 7 26 10 12 22 48

Alcester/Hudson

X X X X 14 X X 7 21

Totals X X X X 40 X X 29 69

Boys Track and FieldParticipation Numbers—Spring 2011

Boys Track

12 11 10 9 9-12 Total

8 7 7-8 Total

7-12 Total

Beresford 7 7 7 8 29 10 17 27 56

Alcester/Hudson

X X X X 14 X X 6 20

Totals X X X X 43 X X 33 76

Girls GolfParticipation Numbers—Spring 2011

Girls Golf 12 11 10 9 9-12 Total

8 7 7-8 Total

7-12 Total

Beresford (spring)

1 2 0 3 6 3 4 7 13

Alcester/Hudson (spring)

X X X X 4 X X 3 7

Totals X X X X 10 X X 10 20

What about Centerville?

In early February, I did place a phone call to Centerville School Superintendent Doug Voss and informed him that if the Centerville School District would have interest in having a dialogue about the possibility of future cooperative agreements in athletics for certain sports, we would be open to having that conversation.

On February 23, at the request of Centerville High School’s Activities Director Jamie Parish, I did send Centerville a copy of our current participation numbers in all of our 7-12 athletic programs.

I informed Mr. Parish that we were having some discussions with Alcester/Hudson about the possibility of future cooperative athletic agreements in certain sports.

Impact on EnrollmentBeresford and Alcester/Hudson

Schools Gr. 9-11 ADM

Beresford 145.460

Alcester/Hudson 74.674

Total ADM 220.134

Impact of a Cooperative Agreement on Class Affiliation

Beresford and Alcester/HudsonWe would move from class 11B to 11A in

football. We would remain in class B wrestling, by

4.865 students. We would remain class A in cross country,

golf, volleyball, basketball, and track and field.

Impact on EnrollmentBeresford and CentervilleSchools Gr. 9-11 ADM

Beresford 145.460

Centerville 49.511

Total ADM 194.971

Impact of a Cooperative Agreement on Class Affiliation

Beresford and CentervilleWe would remain 11B in football, by 5.028

students if the 11B enrollment cap stays at 199.999.

We would remain class B in wrestling. We would remain class A in cross country,

golf, volleyball, basketball, and track and field.

Impact on Enrollment: Beresford, Alcester/Hudson, & Centerville

Schools Gr. 9-11 ADMBeresford 145.460

Alcester/Hudson 74.674Centerville 49.511Total ADM 269.645

Impact of a Cooperative Agreement on Class Affiliation

Beresford, Alcester/Hudson, & CentervilleWe would move from class 11B to 11A in

football. We would move from class B to class A

wrestling. We would remain class A in cross country,

golf, volleyball, basketball, and track and field.

New Big Sioux ConferenceWhere would Beresford rank in enrollment if we had a cooperative

athletic agreement with Alcester/Hudson and/or Centerville?

12 ConferenceSchools

ADMGrades 9-11(Jan., 2011)

Enrollment Rank in Conference

Enrollment Rank in State

West Central 296.906 1 22Vermillion 290.856 2 23

BERw/AH&CV 269.645 3 24

Madison 250.313 3 24Tea Area 246.455 4 25

Dakota Valley 231.315 5 30BER w/AH 220.134 6 31Dell Rapids 216.282 6 32

Lennox 210.857 7 33Tri-Valley 197.178 8 36

Canton 195.905 9 37BER w/CVille 194.971 10 38

Elk Point/ Jefferson 182.405 10 41

Sioux Falls Christian

177.457 11 42

Beresford 145.460 12 4812 Conference

SchoolsADM

Grades 9-11Out of 12 Schools Out of 180 Schools

SDHSAA Guidelines for Athletic Cooperative Sponsorships

Application for Cooperative Sponsorship of an Activity—Conditions

Philosophy and Guidelines for CooperativesClassification AppealExisting CooperativesApplication for Cooperative Sponsorship of ActivitiesCooperative Sponsorship of Activities—Resolution

Approving FormCooperative Agreement—Official Approval StatementApplication for Dissolution of Cooperative Sponsorship of

Activities

SDHSAA Approved125 Existing Cooperatives as of July, 2011

Basketball—16 Comp Cheer—3 Comp Dance—1 Cross Country—11 Football—27 Golf—7 Gymnastic—5

Tennis—1 Track and Field—16 Volleyball—15 Wrestling—20 Band—1 Orchestra—1 Debate—1

SDHSAA DeadlinesBoard of Director Meetings

Football—January Track and Field—March Girls Golf—March Volleyball—April Basketball—April Cross Country—June Boys Golf—June Wrestling—November

PROS

Help increase our overall student enrollment in the new 12-member conference—instead of ranking last #12 in enrollment, we would move up to #6.

Help increase participation numbers in some of our athletic activities.

Help increase the possibility of fielding more competitive teams.

PROS

Help increase the possibility of a greater commitment on the part of athletes to train in off-season and summer to earn positions on teams—conditioning, weight training, sports-specific workouts, etc.Raising the bar.

Help increase the likelihood of a stronger coaching staff by combining head and assistant coaches from area schools in their areas of expertise.

PROS

Share the overall expenses of athletic programs—equipment, uniforms, coaching salaries, referee costs, entry fees, travel expenses, utilities, etc.

Beresford’s wrestling practice facility has two mats and could easily accommodate 25-35 wrestlers for practice sessions.

PROS

Beresford has an all-weather track and field event areas capable of hosting practices and meets and could easily accommodate track and field numbers for both schools at the middle school and varsity levels.

PROS

Beresford and Alcester/Hudson have quality gymnasiums to host practices and games.Will assist in practice and game scheduling not

only at the varsity, JV, and freshman levels but also at the junior high and grade school levels as well.

PROS

Students would gain new friendships and teammates.

An opportunity for both communities to come together to support their student/athletes, now and into the future.

CONS

Practices for some sports will have to be held at both school’s facilities increasing some additional busing, as well as travel time and expenses.

Each school may lose home games as games will have to be played at each cooperative school’s home site.

Athletes may lose starting positions and/or playing time to athletes from other schools.

CONS

Some student-athletes may lose desire to play as they don’t want to put the time in to compete for a position and/or playing time on cooperative teams.

Some athletic programs may have too many participants.

Football would have to compete in 11A rather than 11B.

CONS

Concern over changing school name, school nickname, and school colors when becoming a cooperative activity.

There will be some initial start-up expenses with the purchase of new uniforms, warm-ups, etc. for cooperative teams.

CONS

If you only gain a few students on each team initially, is it worth having a cooperative agreement and/or changing team name, nickname, colors, uniforms, etc.Short-term thinking vs. long-term benefit.

CONS

Decisions will have to be made on the head coach and assistant coaches for varsity, junior varsity, freshmen, and junior high level programs.There can only be one head coach for the varsity

programs and so many assistant coaches for the sub-varsity programs.

Which could cause some hard feelings amongst coaches at each school, as well as student-athletes, parents, and community members.

CONS

Lack of community support for cooperative athletic agreement.Which might cause less unity and support for

the cooperative team and its student-athletes.Which might decrease attendance at athletic

events.

Public Input TimeGround Rules

Everyone who participates and speaks this evening will be expected to adhere to the following ground rules: You are here to listen and be open-minded. You are welcome to speak during public input time, to express your point

of view and/or ask questions but first need to be recognized by the board president who is responsible for maintaining order.

You are not here to be adversarial and/or browbeat individuals that express their personal views that you disagree with, be that student/athletes, parents, coaches, community members, administrators or school board members.

You will be limited to a maximum of two minutes if you elect to speak. There will be no board action but the board may ask questions for

clarification purposes to further understand a point of view. The Board president has the authority to terminate the remarks of any

individual when they do not adhere to the ground rules.

QuestionsWhere do things move from here?

March 12, 2012 Regular School Board Meeting at 5:30 p.m.—agenda item.Discuss the March 5 special board meeting and

the public input received on the possibility of future cooperative athletic agreements with Alcester/Hudson Schools in certain sports and potential next steps.

Thank you for your input and attending tonight’s meeting.