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Member
Lakota to apply for MAL membership
RISINGSUN ? The Lakota Local Schools Board of Education approved a resolution to apply for membership to the Midland Athletic League for all sports on Monday.
Currently, Lakota is one of eight members of the Suburban Lakes League, of which it has been a charter member since the league was originated in 1971.
The approval does not guarantee that Lakota will be moving to the MAL. The Board only approved the resolution to apply for membership in the MAL, meaning the MAL will now be able to consider Lakota for membership.
According to Tom Tucker, Lakota?s athletics director, the MAL will hold a meeting on Wednesday to discuss possible applicants. He did not know if any other schools were being considered at this time.
Even if the MAL approves Lakota?s membership, which will be decided by the principals at the respective league schools, Lakota?s Board of Education would have to pass another resolution to officially join the league.
According to Tucker, if Lakota?s application is accepted and the school decides to change leagues, the decision would most likely be made by the end of this school year.
Then, under the SLL constitution, Lakota would have to remain in the SLL for the 2008-09 school year before joining the MAL in the fall of 2009 (unless the SLL agreed to allow Lakota to leave the league earlier).
The MAL currently has 11 members. Of those, Bettsville, Old Fort and New Riegel do not have football or wrestling programs, and Fostoria St. Wendelin has applied to become independent for football only, remaining in the league for all other sports.
Thus, if St. Wendelin leaves the MAL, only seven schools with football programs would remain, leaving an opening for another school like Lakota because of the scheduling difficulties that a seven-team league presents.
Lakota?s reasons for leaving the SLL, according to Tucker, included projections of declining attendance at Lakota Schools in future classes (Lakota is currently the third smallest school in the SLL, but enrollment projections show it becoming the smallest in the future).
If Lakota joined the MAL it would be the largest school (315 high school students) in the league, according to current enrollment figures, in front of the next largest schools ? Mohawk (265), Seneca East (256) and Carey (251). In the SLL, only Elmwood (292) and Woodmore (295) are smaller than Lakota.
?With us getting smaller and smaller, we began to think that maybe the SLL was getting too big,? Tucker said. ?There?s a lot of consensus in our district that we have a difficulty competing with schools like Eastwood (466 students, largest in the SLL).?
Also, if it joined the MAL, Lakota would be located in a closer proximity to more league schools. Seven of the 11 members of the MAL are located within 20 miles of Lakota High School.
?All of our non-league games in almost every sport are MAL schools, because of the closeness,? Tucker said. ?We actually are surrounded by MAL schools.?
Also, Lakota is in the process of building a new K-12 building, with construction scheduled to begin in June of 2009 and be completed for the start of the 2011 school year.
?The MAL would like to have us,? Tucker said. ?They know we?re getting a new school and facility. Things are going to be really neat out there and it would be like starting over.?
One of the few negatives regarding the possible move that were discussed by the board included the rivalries and familiarity that the school has developed with SLL schools such as Elmwood and Gibsonburg. The changes the move would cause in scheduling were also discussed.
?Us being a rural school, there?s more schools like that (in the MAL) versus the SLL,? said Stephan Naderer, board member. ?Maybe we?d have more in common with them than the SLL. But it?s hard to give up the tradition with the schools in the SLL that we?ve been with.
?Seeing that this is giving us an option, nothing is set in stone, I can?t see where we can go wrong (by applying),? Naderer added.
By CHAYSE HELD
Sentinel Sports Writer
RISINGSUN ? The Lakota Local Schools Board of Education approved a resolution to apply for membership to the Midland Athletic League for all sports on Monday.
Currently, Lakota is one of eight members of the Suburban Lakes League, of which it has been a charter member since the league was originated in 1971.
The approval does not guarantee that Lakota will be moving to the MAL. The Board only approved the resolution to apply for membership in the MAL, meaning the MAL will now be able to consider Lakota for membership.
According to Tom Tucker, Lakota?s athletics director, the MAL will hold a meeting on Wednesday to discuss possible applicants. He did not know if any other schools were being considered at this time.
Even if the MAL approves Lakota?s membership, which will be decided by the principals at the respective league schools, Lakota?s Board of Education would have to pass another resolution to officially join the league.
According to Tucker, if Lakota?s application is accepted and the school decides to change leagues, the decision would most likely be made by the end of this school year.
Then, under the SLL constitution, Lakota would have to remain in the SLL for the 2008-09 school year before joining the MAL in the fall of 2009 (unless the SLL agreed to allow Lakota to leave the league earlier).
The MAL currently has 11 members. Of those, Bettsville, Old Fort and New Riegel do not have football or wrestling programs, and Fostoria St. Wendelin has applied to become independent for football only, remaining in the league for all other sports.
Thus, if St. Wendelin leaves the MAL, only seven schools with football programs would remain, leaving an opening for another school like Lakota because of the scheduling difficulties that a seven-team league presents.
Lakota?s reasons for leaving the SLL, according to Tucker, included projections of declining attendance at Lakota Schools in future classes (Lakota is currently the third smallest school in the SLL, but enrollment projections show it becoming the smallest in the future).
If Lakota joined the MAL it would be the largest school (315 high school students) in the league, according to current enrollment figures, in front of the next largest schools ? Mohawk (265), Seneca East (256) and Carey (251). In the SLL, only Elmwood (292) and Woodmore (295) are smaller than Lakota.
?With us getting smaller and smaller, we began to think that maybe the SLL was getting too big,? Tucker said. ?There?s a lot of consensus in our district that we have a difficulty competing with schools like Eastwood (466 students, largest in the SLL).?
Also, if it joined the MAL, Lakota would be located in a closer proximity to more league schools. Seven of the 11 members of the MAL are located within 20 miles of Lakota High School.
?All of our non-league games in almost every sport are MAL schools, because of the closeness,? Tucker said. ?We actually are surrounded by MAL schools.?
Also, Lakota is in the process of building a new K-12 building, with construction scheduled to begin in June of 2009 and be completed for the start of the 2011 school year.
?The MAL would like to have us,? Tucker said. ?They know we?re getting a new school and facility. Things are going to be really neat out there and it would be like starting over.?
One of the few negatives regarding the possible move that were discussed by the board included the rivalries and familiarity that the school has developed with SLL schools such as Elmwood and Gibsonburg. The changes the move would cause in scheduling were also discussed.
?Us being a rural school, there?s more schools like that (in the MAL) versus the SLL,? said Stephan Naderer, board member. ?Maybe we?d have more in common with them than the SLL. But it?s hard to give up the tradition with the schools in the SLL that we?ve been with.
?Seeing that this is giving us an option, nothing is set in stone, I can?t see where we can go wrong (by applying),? Naderer added.
By CHAYSE HELD
Sentinel Sports Writer
