Due to declining student populations, the A-C Valley, Keystone and Union School Districts are in discussions about forming a three-district sports cooperative agreement beginning in the 2024-25 school year.
According to A-C Valley Superintendent Dr. David McDeavitt, the details surrounding the proposed co-op are still to be determined i.e. the number of sports programs taking part, who would host the specific sports, etc.
In an email to the Clarion News, McDeavitt detailed that all three districts were following a similar population trend which is a concern for the athletic programs. Moreover, the number of students participating in athletic programs has also decreased at all three schools.
Union is also in a co-op with Redbank Valley for wrestling while Keystone co-ops with Central Clarion for wrestling.
The purpose of the meeting is to provide information to the public, answer questions submitted prior to the meeting, and then the limited time left at the end of the meeting will be utilized to answer questions or address concerns presented from members of the audience. Each individual will have limited time to ask their question and receive a response to maximize the number of individuals being heard.
Items for consideration include but are not limited to: opportunities for athletes, staffing of programs, logistics for practices and hosting of events, cost-sharing measures, joint decision-making (collaborative, three district process), identity, etc.
Concerned parties can also submit questions to their respective districts prior to the meeting.
The deadline to apply for cooperative agreements with the PIAA and District 9 is the beginning of December.