Waitsburg School Board Rescinds Athletic Combine

WAITSBURG – Following an hour of emotional discussion during their Feb. 14 meeting, the Waitsburg school board “reluctantly” agreed to rescind the full middle and high school combine and activities agreement with the Dayton School District. The combine had been approved by both Dayton and Waitsburg school boards in a joint Jan. 29 meeting.

Waitsburg pointed to a volatile combine advisory meeting, held on Feb. 12 and attended by multiple Dayton community members, as the deciding factor in their decision to step away from the combine.

“It’s been gut-wrenching. It shouldn’t feel this hard,” said board chair Ross Hamann as he described the negotiation process to date.

Dayton and Waitsburg currently combine for high school football, cross-country, wrestling, baseball, cheerleading, and middle school football, softball and baseball. Success with these programs led the districts to consider a full combine of both middle and high school sports, in order to field teams and keep athletic programs safe and viable as both districts struggle with dwindling participation.

An advisory committee made up of coaches, administration and parents from each district has met over the last year to hammer out combine logistics. Negotiations were progressing well until recently, when some Dayton community members began expressing concerns and stalling the process.

“We added multiple additional opportunities to answer questions, comments and concerns, to get this thing started again, but the advisory couldn’t seem to get over this hump,” Hamann said. ‘After input sessions from the different communities, we decided to get this out in the open and get it voted on to get things moving again. Which we did, on the 29th. We anticipated that we got our direction again, and it was clear, and we headed out to do the work.

“The advisory committee met Monday to do the work and it was not a good night,” Hamann continued. “Following what we thought were definitive decisions, the tone is growing more and more negative. I heard comments and accusations directed toward Dayton board members and their administrators that are not healthy. It’s very anti-productive. On behalf of the Dayton community, this is not good for them.”

Hamann said that he heard comments about how detrimental the combine would be to Dayton students and that Dayton basketball coaches had resigned.

“For the first time, I have some really deep concerns,” Hamann added. “Maybe this is the wrong time for Dayton. But the really big question that I can’t get out of my mind is that we are beginning to put our students into this growing negative environment, which would not be good for them. I’m at true odds about whether this will be good for us. I haven’t had a lot of sleep in the last few nights.”

Waitsburg high school athletic director, Stephanie Wooderchak, said the last productive advisory meeting was Nov. 13. Since then, all they have done is receive public input. She said that six coaches need to be hired for fall and 11 for winter, which would be “almost physically impossible,” at this point. She echoed Hamann’s concerns about the Feb. 12 advisory meeting.

“Monday was particularly difficult. A lot of negative remarks. I saw good people angry with each other and saying things to each other that were hateful and negative. They’re all good people, but they turned on each other and it was very unpleasant to be there,” Wooderchak said.

She said she received a lengthy letter from a Dayton community member, complete with charts, detailing how the combine would be detrimental to Dayton. She also said that at least twice during Monday’s meeting she heard the suggestion that all indoor sports take place in Dayton, which went against what had already been agreed upon.

She said the meeting “completely derailed” multiple times over “minute issues.”

“I don’t think we can move forward with the combine at this time. I don’t think it’s healthy for either community,” she said, suggesting that the district continue to support the currently combined programs.

The deadline for placement on the 1B league schedule has passed but Wooderchak was optimistic that they could still fit Waitsburg in if they moved quickly.

“This is going to break the hearts of our children. It makes me want to cry,” said board member Christy House.

“I get upset with the squeaky wheel getting the grease. You’ve got a core of folks out there disrupting what is good for 90% of the people,” said board member Randy Pearson. “It seems to me like a lot more people are going to be disappointed than the ones that are mad about it, but they’re not the vocal ones.”

“This board is still really, truly in favor of a combine. We would do this only as a way to not have hard feelings or negative relationships developing,” said board member Marilyn Johnson.

Board members struggled with the decision but ultimately agreed that Dayton does not appear ready for a combine, advisory committee productivity is nonexistent and Waitsburg does not want to place its students into a potentially unwelcoming environment.

The board voted unanimously to rescind the full combine advisory agreement and return to the previously existing agreements, so long as Dayton is agreeable.

“I think this might be a really good opportunity for Waitsburg to focus inward on our athletes, our community and our parents and look at what is creating the lack of participation and how we can provide support to increase that,” Wooderchak said.