Board rejects soccer co-op

The Hill City School District Board of Education meeting was packed with children and adults all wanting to voice their opinion on a proposed high school soccer co-op with Custer. Over 40 people, all in support of the co-op, came to the April 10 meeting.

The agenda listed the recommended action be to reject the co-op, which is ultimately what the board voted to do, despite the numerous pleas from those in attendance.

Andi Bauer spoke for “all the parents and children who weren’t present” and  remarked how the program has grown in such a short time.

“Keep in mind that was all word of mouth,” Bauer said. She was surprised to learn that Hill City soccer ages out at age 8. She said being a small school is not the issue.

“At what point and who gets to decide what sports a child should play?” Bauer asked. She pleaded with the board to “give kids at an older age a chance to play a sport they love.”

Adult after adult spoke in unison with Bauer, although Calvin Griswold did note the program in place did at times have poor coaching and made mistakes with other coordinators.

“We need to put the right people in the right places,” Griswold said, asking the board to “look beyond personality and look at all we’re trying to achieve.”

Valerie Warner, who spoke at the last school board meeting, addressed the district’s primary concern, taking kids from other sports, and noted it was a concern for the Custer school board as well. She said the opposite has happened and many children playing soccer have ended up playing other sports as well.

Hill City Alderman Carl Doaty appealed to board members as “one elected official to another” asking the board to approve the co-op. Keystone Trustee Matt Fullilove also asked the board to consider the measure, saying a soccer co-op could “change kids lives” and “make them commit to it on a higher level.”

As one parent put it, “they don’t want to play other sports; they want to play soccer” and asked the board to remove the barriers for the children to play.

It wasn’t just the adults who spoke on behalf of the co-op. It was the numerous soccer players, from both Hill City and Custer, who passionately addressed the board.

David Gomez of Hill City and Kendall Reynolds from Custer stood up together to address school board members. 

“It would be a great opportunity  for kids in your school to come join us,” Reynolds said. He said during the high school season most soccer clubs “aren’t operating, leaving these kids with nothing to do.” Gomez, who goes to school in Hill City, said some kids he knows who aren’t currently playing any sport said they’d play soccer, and from his perspective the sport would not draw from other sports. He wanted the opportunity to keep playing. 

“I’m willing to do anything to play soccer and see where I can go with this sport,” he said.

Koleden Niemann went to Custer’s board and spoke on behalf of a soccer program last year.

“I remember wishing and wishing and wishing for our own soccer team,” he said. With the Custer team’s approval, Koleden was able to realize his dream of lettering in soccer.  

Opposition to the co-op came from two voices, Hill City head track coach Joe Noyes and Hill City head football coach Brett Eckert.

“I know there is a belief that there’s a mutualistic symbiosis between cross country and soccer and I don’t believe that to be the case,” Noyes said, saying he spoke to coaches from other schools who shared concerns about bringing in a “high-level program” and matching it with “another high-level program.”

“I don’t believe our student athletes, especially a school of our size, can be split up and be overworked,” he said. “I don’t want to give up my practice time.”

Noyes said in the last seven years the team has brought home a trophy and was concerned the district would be splitting itself too thin. 

“I don’t think our numbers allow us to maintain three fall sports,” he said.

Eckert asked the board to keep in mind the big picture and what’s best for the district. He said there are 30 children currently going out for two sports. 

“Every time we add on a program it’s going to continue to strain the numbers of our student athletes,” Eckert explained. “Eventually you could have five or six athletics going on at one point in time,” if the district continued to add sports. He called sports a “numbers game” saying,  “as your  numbers continue to decrease it’s going to be harder and harder to sustain high quality programs.”

 He made his opposition clear saying, “I’m not opposed to soccer, I’m opposed to too many sports.”

Over a dozen people spoke before board members had a chance to voice their opinions. 

Member Angie Ross stated her “biggest concern is that it’s coed and there are very few games you guys would play.” She also was concerned about not being able to compete in the postseason which was an argument brought up by district athletic director Wade Ginsbach at the last school board meeting. Parents in the room questioned that “fact” saying the board had been “misinformed” and the coed play can qualify for state.

Given an opportunity to explain, Ginsbach dodged that issue, stating instead,  “I don’t think we are a school that’s big enough to absorb another team sport. Original thought was three or four kids and obviously we’d have more. And I think that would drastically decrease our success rate in other sports.”

A survey showed 45 children were in favor of playing soccer. Hill City and Lead-Deadwood are the only two schools in the area without a soccer program.

Member Rob Timm was met with applause supporting the co-op and the children having “another opportunity to play.”

Tim Grabow, the newest board member, looked at the co-op from the viewpoint of the district strategic plan, its wants and needs.  

“Hill City’s been successful compared to our peers in the area of academics because we’ve focused on science, we’ve focused on math, we’ve focused on English. We can’t offer every elective in the classroom,” he said. 

He said it would be tough to throw something else in that would be a fiscal burden on the district, while admitting simultaneously that this program has funding in place. Grabow was concerned about district enrollment overall as well as the sustainability of a soccer program in general, citing Groton’s declining soccer enrollment despite it having won a state championship. While Grabow said he might be able to support a spring soccer program he would not support this initiative.

“We need to focus on what we have and what we do well,” he said.

Member Eric Lind said “regardless of the outcome it’s not a discussion that’s  going  to go away any time soon.” While he saw the compelling logic of both sides, he wanted to “remove the emotion” from the decision and “do what’s best for the kids.”

Superintendent Blake Gardner explained the decision to oppose the co-op saying, “there’s still some questions out there.”

Timm ended up being the lone vote in favor of the soccer co-op with Custer.

Also at the meeting, the board gave permission to Gardner to make public its opposition to the state-proposed social studies standards. The board is opposed to the standard for various reasons including that they do not allow for depth of learning and deviate so greatly from the current standard to create a need for new books, increased teacher planning and professional development.

The board approved $377,289 for new computers for staff and students. These devices should take the district through the 2027-28 school year.

The school district preliminary budget will be presented at the May 8 school board meeting  with a  public hearing taking place   June 12.

This year the district received state aid but is not expected to to receive that aid next year due to enrollment  numbers and property taxes.