Taking the surprise for school boards out of negotiations for a cooperative sports extension between the Cerro Gordo and Bement districts should be the next step, according to Cerro Gordo Superintendent Brett Robinson.
Although negotiations between high school principals and athletic directors have been active since November, resulting in at least six proposals, Bement board members seemed shocked at its December meeting with what had come out of it.
A similar feeling came from Cerro Gordo board members two weeks ago at their meeting when considering a counterproposal from Bement.
“We felt the principals had jointly, collaboratively drafted something,” said Robinson of a proposal in December that would see schools host individual sports and add middle school offerings to the cooperative.
But Bement board members did not like that all revenue producing high school sports stayed in Cerro Gordo.
Bement offered a counter-proposal, but CGHS Principal Jeremy Rodebaugh said it included aspects he would not even present to the school board. One of the non-starters of that proposal, he said, was Bement hosting football, volleyball or boys basketball.
The CGB cooperative currently has Cerro Gordo hosting two-thirds of games and costs, with Bement getting one-third. Bement has been asking for a more even split starting this fall. By IHSA mandate, cooperative contracts run two years.
One thing that seems to be a constant is the surprise at proposals when they reach each school board table.
Robinson hopes adding at least one school board member to future negotiations will help end that.
“I’m hoping maybe, that if there is such a meeting, we can go over the prior meetings the administrators had together, and how they arrived at what was presented in December that they felt good about, and how that went off the rails and was received so poorly,” he said.
“We need to eliminate the surprise,” said the CG superintendent.
Bement Superintendent Sheila Greenwood acknowledged “there was a definite disconnect,” and felt “having board members involved will definitely help move the process forward.”
It may also help limit negotiating in the media, said Cerro Gordo school board member Debbie Greenwood.
“We are doing all of this back and forth banter in the newspapers. I understand there are a lot of hurt feelings behind the scenes, but again it is all trying to make what is best for the kids. That is what ultimately matters,” she said at the Jan. 20 school board session.
Cerro Gordo High School Principal Jeremy Rodebaugh seemed to soften at the Jan. 20 meeting after a week earlier indicating the district may not even consider a continuation of the two-thirds/one-third split.
“Bement has some very valid arguments they would give us, and we have valid arguments to contradict. So both sides have very valid points,” Rodebaugh told his school board.
Robinson feels there has also been misunderstanding and/or misinterpretation on some issues, such as the hiring of coaches. Concern was shown by Sheila Greenwood about Cerro Gordo possibly hiring all CG instructors as co-op coaches, but Robinson pointed out head coaches from within school staff ranks total four for CG and two for Bement.
“So the claim that CG will only hire CG, I don’t believe that is fair and accurate,” he said.
The Bement Superintendent said the issue is contract language that she felt “left too much ambiguity” on the hiring issue, and should be more clear cut.
One thing both districts apparently agree on: They both need the co-op to be competitive on the sports front.
“The ability for us to pool our student-athletes together gives us a competitive edge that we wouldn’t have without each other,” said Sheila Greenwood. “It also allows us to continue to have programs that we otherwise couldn’t have as standalone schools.”
With enrollment at about 100 at Bement High School and 230 at CGHS – and declining at both schools – Cerro Gordo school board member Todd Hendricks agreed the districts need each other.
“The future is what it is and we need to negotiate a compromise agreement and maintain this, because none of us can stand on our own. Otherwise, neither school will compete,” he commented.
“I know we are frustrated with this right now, but we need to keep working,” added Hendricks.
Proposals
Rodebaugh shared the six proposals that had been discussed during negotiations since November. They include the following:
Nov. 12, 2020: Bement proposes a 50/50 split of games and practices except for: Cerro Gordo would host all track meets due to its all-weather surface; and cross country would be hosted at Bement.
Nov. 23, 2020: Cerro Gordo proposes the schools split sports, hosting and paying for the sports they host. CGHS would host high school football, volleyball, basketball, cheerleading and track. Bement would host cross country, scholastic bowl, baseball and softball. Middle school sports would be added to the cooperative, with Cerro Gordo hosting boys basketball, cheerleading, volleyball and track. Bement would host softball, baseball, cross country, girls basketball and scholastic bowl.
Dec. 7, 2020: A tweaked version of the Nov. 23 proposal moves high school girls basketball and scholastic bowl to Cerro Gordo, and middle school boys basketball and girls cheerleading to Bement.
Dec. 8, 2020: Similar to Nov. 23 and Dec. 7, includes the following hosting duties: Cerro Gordo hosts high school football, volleyball, basketball, cheerleading and track. Bement hosts cross country, baseball and softball. Bement hosts middle school softball, baseball, cross country, basketball and cheerleading, and Cerro Gordo middle school volleyball and track. The CGB high school mascot would be Broncos with colors of orange and navy; the middle school mascot would be Bulldogs with the colors of purple and white.
This is the proposal turned down by the Bement board in December.
Jan. 14, 2021: Bement counters with a new idea: Cerro Gordo gets first choice of hosting volleyball or football in the fall. If it choose football, it also hosts girls basketball, while Bement would host volleyball and boys basketball. Other choices follow this format, except Cerro Gordo would host all track teams.
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Board members to get more directly involved in co-op talks - Piatt County Journal-Republican
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