By Hannah Kibler
Journal-Republican correspondent

Bement teachers, coaches, and board members met to discuss the possibility of a sports co-op with the Cerro Gordo school district at the February 8 school board meeting.

With the decision of Atwood-Hammond’s school district (Bement’s current sport co-op partner) to open discussions with Arthur about a possible merger, Bement school board members have begun exploring other options as well. Bement Superintendent Dan Brue and Cerro Gordo Superintendent Brett Robinson recently met to iron out the specifics of a sports co-op should the two schools choose to bring it to a vote.
While the board may still choose to renew its current two year contract, Brue noted that it would only be guaranteed for a year if Atwood-Hammond decides to pursue a merger with Arthur, consequently leaving Bement with diminished bargaining power for a new co-op partner if it didn’t have enough students to field its own teams.

“It’s a risk doing either option, but it’s a question of what is the safest risk to take. I’m looking at what is a brighter future for our students, and I think the best path is one with less unknowns.” said Brue of leaning towards a co-op with Cerro Gordo.

The co-op proposal presented only encompassed Bement sports contracts that are up for renewal this year including football, baseball, and softball teams. The proposal, which is based off of student enrollment, would give the Cerro Gordo school district a 2/3 representation in the contract due to their student body (185 students) being slightly more populated than Bement’s (103 students).  This division would hold true throughout the agreement, with Bement hosting 1/3 of the home games, and paying only 1/3 of the cost for the services and materials needed for the extracurricular activities.

The proposal received a mixed reaction at the meeting, with some residents questioning whether or not it would make more sense to consider combining all school sports due to the fact that students would be teammates in some sports while playing on opposing teams for others. Board member Joe Wittmer maintained that not combining sports that border on having enough students to comprise a team could bolster student participation.

“I think we’d get more Bement kids participating if it was a Bement-only team,” Wittmer said.
However both eligibility and injuries can affect participation numbers.

“It comes down to sustainability,” Brue said. “We could try to do it on our own, but it’s a risk.” Board member Jodi Wright agreed.

“Barely having enough kids for a team and just getting by isn’t fun”, she said, noting that practice obligations along with long travel hours can wear students out.

“Hopefully changing colors and mascot won’t be a deal breaker” said Brue of the more unsavory terms of the contract, hoping they wouldn’t undermine the many advantages to integrating sports such as the ability to produce more competitive teams and the opportunity to have junior varsity teams.  While the meeting did not yield any decisions, board members were clear that public input needs to be thoroughly considered before voting on the matter.

“This is a difficult decision, we want all the feedback we can get” said Wittmer. Both school districts plan to hold public hearings in late February (dates are yet to be announced) with hopes to vote on the matter by March.

Sports were not the only matters on the agenda in Brue’s meeting with Cerro Gordo; the two administrators also discussed providing students with more academic opportunities by sharing teachers. Instructors would travel to teach one class each, specifically giving Bement students the chance to take an agricultural science class, while offering Cerro Gordo students the opportunity to take an Industrial Technology class. Collaborating with Cerro Gordo academically would also afford schools the ability to offer advanced classes such as calculus or trigonometry that may only have a few eligible students. Superintendent Brue noted that any academic partnership would not be contingent on how the schools vote for the sports co-op.

“We will pursue this even if there is no sports co-op with Cerro Gordo,” Brue said.
In other news Superintendent Brue reported that the district had finally received its first payment of $59,641 from the state for the 2012 fiscal year almost five months late. Board members voted to accept new hire T.J. Hallam as a volunteer assistant high school baseball coach for the 2012-2013 school year.