Crawford Public Schools

Erin Norman, Keri Homan and Trace Trainor met with Liz Baker and Barry Swisher on Thursday, in Harrison.  The meeting was very productive and both sides expressed the concerns for their respective schools/patrons.

1.  Crawford wanted to retain all of their coaches.  Sioux County wants to hire the best- they also have an interest in protecting their coaches.  The compromise is that for the first 2 years (interim) of the Co-Op, ALL coaches from both districts would be retained if they are wanting to keep their position.  There would still need to be meetings for each sport to determine a head coach because students, parents, etc. need to know the chain of command.

• For many sports, there wouldn't even be an issue- they don't have volleyball, wrestling, XC, or Girls Basketball

• Coaches tell players that they earn their varsity jersey/starting position each week- Coaches can be held to same standard

  • A rubric for evaluating coaches would be followed

  • This could also be used to determine the "head" coach if/when needed

• The cost savings would not be a driving factor if we keep ALL coaches

• By keeping coaches, there would be adults to run practice if weather made it unsafe to travel.

  • If there wasn't a coach from a respective school, the AD/Admin would fill the role of running a productive practice.

2.  Crawford wanted to negotiate for football now and then continue talks/negotiations for other sports.  Sioux County wants to do all or nothing now.  

3.  There really isn't a "magic" number for when Crawford would travel or if Sioux County would travel.  There were other extenuating circumstances that could come into play.

• If both gyms are used (especially during basketball season), it would ensure everyone is home earlier.  

  • Currently boys and girls share the gym-

    • 4:00-6:00 and 6:00-8:00 

    • Or, someone does a morning practice

• Buses would be used as little as possible, for example if they had 8 kids out for football and we had 14, we would most likely alternate.  A bus could take the kids over on Monday but the pads/helmets could stay there and the small vehicles could be used the rest of the week until traveling to the game.

• During basketball/volleyball, there are sometimes multiple games during the week so travel to practice would not be necessary on those days for either team.

• If there was a JH game at one gym, practices could still start on time for Varsity, allowing students to get home earlier. (Volleyball, Basketball)

4.  Someone had asked about helmets at the meeting.  White is a color that would go with both school's existing uniforms.  We could paint helmets for a minimal charge compared to purchasing new helmets.  Each athlete would have their own helmet.  We could still have a decal from each school on the helmet.

5.  At this time, both schools wanted to work on HS/Varsity before trying to also include JH.  That could be done at a future time.

6.  They would be paying for 50%, even if they don't have an athlete in the sport, such as XC.

7.  After the 2 years, we have to reapply with NSAA, of course we are all hoping that we are doing it indefinitely and not renegotiating each time.  We will have a lot more information after the first cycle. We still have to reapply with NSAA every two years.

Crawford/Sioux County Sports Cooperative Proposal

Two-Year Cooperative Agreement - 2026-2028

Activities - Football, Volleyball, Cross Country, Basketball, Wrestling, Track & Field, Golf

-Junior High Sports, One-Act, Speech and FFA will remain separate

-Football will have a possibility of three options

1. 6-Man with playoff eligibility - 27 Boys or Below Enrollment

2. 6-Man without playoff eligibility - Over 27 Boys

3. 8-Man with playoff eligibility - Over 27 Boys

Cost - Cost will be split 50/50 between the two school districts.  Cost includes the following

1. Coaches

2. Officials

3. Bus Drivers/School Vehicle Drivers

4. Entry Fees/Registration Fees

5. Others 

Coaches

1. Coaches will be hired by a committee consisting of one administrator and one representative from each school.  The four on the committee will make recommendations for coaches. 

2. The best coaches will be hired no matter which schools they are affiliated with.  There does not need to be a coach from each school even though this would be convenient.

3. Coaches will be paid a percentage of an agreed upon salary schedule with steps to account for years of experience.  

Uniforms

1. The first cycle we will use Crawford and Sioux County uniforms.  Between the schools, we have enough uniforms for our teams.  For example, the varsity boys basketball may wear Crawford uniforms while the JV wears Sioux County uniforms.  

2. Home sites will wear home uniforms.  Crawford home game = Crawford varsity uniforms, SC JV uniforms.  Sioux County home game = Sioux County varsity uniforms, Crawford JV uniforms.

3. This would give the two schools time to budget for new uniforms for the next cycle.

Practice/Game Schedules

1. Practice schedules will be set to make sure both facilities are being used and that students are getting home at a reasonable time.

2. Each sport will be different therefore each schedule will be different.

3. The number of participants from each school will play a part in practice scheduling.  

4. Games will be split between the two schools within reason.

5. The opponent’s location will play a part in where games are played.  We don’t want to have schools drive through one town to play games in another.

Season Passes/Gate

1. Season Passes will be available for all patrons.  

2. Gate will be taken at each school and patrons will be charged.

3. Gate and pass income will be split between the two schools to cover costs.

Team Name and Mascot

1. The team names and mascots will stay the same for the first two years.  CR/SC Rams/Warriors

2. The two year agreement will give administration and the community time to evaluate the cooperation and whether to create a more permanent solution to the team name and mascot.