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Falls City Baseball Proposal Strikes Out, for Now

By Matthew Leaf

02/12/2013

(KTNC) - The Falls City School District will not add baseball as a varsity sport – at least for now. District 56 began exploring the possibility of adding baseball last fall, when a group interested in starting a baseball program pitched the idea to the School Board.

Following a review of the district’s current sports programs and participation rates, Superintendent Tim Heckenlively said the recommendation was to not add another boys’ sport at this time. The primary reason for the decision, he says, is gender equity. (play audio)

The Falls City School District currently has six boys’ sports and five girls’ sports, and of 124 Falls City High School students who participate in athletics, nearly six in 10 are boys. Adding another boys’ sport would most likely put the Falls City School District out of compliance with Title 9 – the 1972 federal law that bans sex discrimination in schools.

Kory Huppert spoke Monday on behalf of the group supporting high school baseball. While he said he understands the decision to not add baseball now, he also cited a student survey of Middle and High School students that projected nearly 40 boys would participate in baseball by the 2015-16 school year. (play audio )

The district may revisit the decision and add baseball in the future. But, Heckenlively says, the focus needs to go in a different direction first.

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