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SPORTS MyEagleNews.com Wednesday, September 15, 2021 A9 Grant Union considers ending sports co-ops Transfer students returning to play sports weighs on staff Labhart, a former teacher, told the board that the co-ops came when Prai- rie City did not have enough athletes to field teams. Now, he said, the dis- trict has enough students to build their teams out. Board member Jake Taylor said Grant Union is losing students to Prai- rie City, and he hoped that a decision to end the co-op did not hurt the district in the long run. “We have the facility,” he said. “We have the programs, but they’re still leaving because they feel that strongly about it.” Ryan Gerry, Grant Union princi- pal, said students leaving because they were unhappy with an aspect of the school and then opting to return to play a Grant Union sport weighed heavily on many staff, teachers and coaches. Gerry said if the students did not have the opportunity to co-op then they would have stayed at Grant Union. “I don’t think we should strong- arm people,” Taylor said. “We should give them a reason to want to be here. We should not hold a sport over their head.” Taylor said it is a “false statement” that the co-op was put in place because Grant Union did not have enough stu- dents to field varsity and junior varsity teams. “We’ve always had enough,” he said. “We’ve lost so many kids. Now we’re desperate.” An unidentified Grant School Dis- trict staffer said, when she was in high school, she was an “average athlete” and would have been “deeply disheart- ened” had she lost her spot on a varsity team to a student from another school. Aside from that, she said, the district is “morally and ethically” responsible for supporting students from Grant’s district. Moreover, she said the board spent two hours talking about showcasing By Steven Mitchell Blue Mountain Eagle Grant School District officials are mulling ending cooperative agree- ments that allow students from sur- rounding schools to participate in sports programs that their schools lack the resources to offer. According to an Aug. 18 letter to the school board signed by Grant Union High School’s wrestling, bas- ketball, track and field and cross coun- try coaches, the purpose of the co-op was to bring in students from neighbor- ing schools when Grant Union did not have enough student athletes to field a varsity and junior varsity team. Now, the coaches write, the number of participants at Grant Union has “sta- bilized,” and they believe they should focus exclusively on “creating oppor- tunities for Grant Union students and not those of neighboring schools.” Zach Williams, Grant Union’s soft- ball coach, who did not sign the letter, said most sports at Grant Union do not have a co-op and that softball has been approved to have a co-op for the 2022 season. Billy Colson, Prairie City’s princi- pal and athletic director, said two stu- dents played on Grant Union’s base- ball team last year, and two played on its softball team. This year, he said one freshman from Prairie City wants to play base- ball for Grant Union and six students wish to play softball. Colson said, if Grant Union rejects Prairie City’s request for a co-op, they would try and put together a softball team, but there is no way they could form a baseball team. Grant school board member Chris NUMBER OF GRANT SCHOOL DISTRICT STUDENTS WHO HAVE TRANSFERRED Year Elementary High school 2015-16 6 9 2016-17 7 8 2017-18 9 7 2018-19 5 15 2019-20 24 11 2020-21 13 18 2021-22 19 14 the district’s programs to entice stu- dents to want to attend school within the district. Athletics, she said, are one of those programs. “I watched several kids this year walk away from our school knowing that they were going to be able to walk back onto the field that they wanted to play on because there are no conse- quences to them leaving,” she said. Background on cooperative agreements Gerry said the cooperative agree- ment process came to be because Grant Union had schools from Prairie City, Dayville and Long Creek asking if they would allow students to partici- pate in their sports programs. Gerry said there was not any formal process in place. Grant school board chair Haley Walker noted the board’s concern was that allowing, in some cases, just one school to co-op with Grant Union could bump Grant Union up in the classification of its division. According to board meeting mate- rials, schools that co-op with Grant School District pay $2,500 per sport. Grant School District Superintendent Bret Uptmor said that does not cover all the costs, depending on the num- ber of coaches and experience level. According to Uptmor, the district could be paying up to $5,000 for coaching salaries, and then adding in transporta- tion costs, the price tag can reach up to $13,000. With students defecting to other school districts — mainly Prairie City — the district is losing enroll- ment-based state funding at roughly $8,000 per student. Uptmor said he wanted to empha- size that the cooperative agreements and the transfer of students out of the district do not correlate. “One is about a student,” he said. “And one is about a team.” He said the board put the coop- erative agreements and student and teacher retention on the work session agenda as two separate items. He said they do not consider them the same. “We want to talk about how we can improve our enrollment,” he said. How many students have left Grant School District and why are they leaving? Grant School District lost over 60 of its students last year. Labhart said he taught at Prairie City for three months. He said, while they have a “good school,” he believes Grant Union holds students to a higher standard. Additionally, he said he believes mask requirements play a role in the uptick in students leaving as well. He said, if the high school students wouldn’t have been able to play co-op sports, they would have stayed. “I’m just being honest,” he said. Grant Union High School bas- ketball coach and engagement coor- dinator RC Huerta said another rea- son students are leaving is for political reasons, though he doesn’t believe teachers are bringing politics into the classroom. Taylor said he knew “for a fact” that teachers at Grant Union had “pushed their beliefs” on students. Nonetheless, he said, he did not believe those were the reasons why students were leaving. Board member Colleen Robertson said she had seen teachers bring pol- itics into the classroom when it came to her own family and that there was nothing the school could do about it. However, she said, the district needed to be honest about it going on. Uptmor said some of the other rea- sons are smaller class sizes, conve- nience, the desire to have a family within the same district and families moving out of the area. Additionally, Uptmor said the dis- trict has lost 45 staff and teachers over the last three years. Those reasons, according to board meeting materials, ranged from a lack of support among parents and students and a lack of feel- ing valued in the community. For his part, Gerry pointed out the school saw a good number of staff retire as well, which, he said, accounted for nearly half of the staff the district lost last year. Gerry said the “easiest route” for some students who are being told something they do not like is to say, “I’m leaving,” and that, he said, is “unfortunate.” Gerry said, with COVID-19, he would throw out the last two years as they are anomalies. He said people were moving out of the district for var- ious reasons and that they are trying to do their best to highlight what the dis- trict is doing and the programs they offer. And, he said, they could do a bet- ter job. “I think sometimes we tend to look at these numbers and you’re like, ‘Wow, that’s doesn’t look very posi- tive,’” he said. “But then you start to look at the things that are offered in this district, and that is a lot.” Junior Rodeo: A Grant County tradition By Steven Mitchell Blue Mountain Eagle Young cowboys and cowgirls from as far away as Texas competed at the Grant County Junior Rodeo Saturday at the Fairgrounds. Grant County Fairgrounds Man- ager said 130 contestants came out this year for the event, up from 75 in 2019. Last year’s Junior Rodeo was put on hiatus due to COVID-19, according to Winegar. She said she was happy to see the annual event back this year. “This is a Grant County tradition,” Winegar said. To kick off the rodeo, the organizers honored the 13 service members who were killed last month in Afghanistan before the U.S.’s planned withdrawal from the country. “It was a nice little ceremony,” Winegar said. “Rodeos are very patriotic.” Winegar said rodeo emcee and Cornerstone Christian Church pas- tor Levi Manitsas said a short prayer. She said it was also important to hold the ceremony with the rodeo being held on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Organizers Shilo Burton and Brit- tany Desadier said roughly 20 vol- unteers chipped in to make the event happen and they thanked the fair board as well. Winegar said the county has hosted the event since 2005. Contributed photo From left, Bailey McCrack- en, Sarah Clark and Rowdy Israel pose for a picture at the Cottage Grove rodeo last month. The Eagle/Steven Mitchell A young cattle roper chases down a calf Saturday at the Grant County Fairgrounds during the county’s Junior Rodeo. Second: Emerson Russell,23.351 Third: Jolee Oakes, 24.164 Steer riding First: Brody Fife, 70 Second: Jaxon Griffith, 65 Third: Landyn Fincher, no score recorded Goats First:Molly Davis, 12.329 Second: Landyn Fincher, 15.604 Third: Payson Green, 16.053 Youth The Eagle/Steven Mitchell Seniors All-around champion Talyn Sandifer Poles First: Zeleta Masterson, 19.260 Second: Zoey Beam, 20.289 Third: Talyn Sandifer, 20.672 Goats First: Rylee Russell, 15.844 Second: Bryce Roggenkamp, 16.47 Third: Talyn Sandifer, 16.547 THURSDAY, SEPT. 16 Grant Union volleyball @ Heppner, 5 p.m. FRIDAY, SEPT. 17 Dayville/Monument foot- ball vs. Joseph, 1 p.m. Juniors All-around champion Lainee Winebarger Poles First: Lainee Winebarger, 23.311 Blue Mountain Eagle Dummy Roping First: Riggin McGinn Second: Tate Turner Third: Jadon Snow Pee wee All-around champion Hazel McGinn Woolies First: Bowen Bronson, 3.25 Second: Gage Tremblay, 3.06 Third: Wyatt Hansen, 2.69 Barrels First: Monnee Jo McCain, 24.317 Second: Maven Russell, 31.567 Third: Hazel McGinn, 32.036 Poles First: Maven Russell,38.916 Second: Quincee Jayne Harper, 40.568 Third: Hazel McGinn, 42.315 Goats First: Hazel Mcginn, 9.445 Second: Maven Russell, 9.518 Third: Monnee Jo McCain, 11.395 Dummy roping First: Sterling Oakes, 9 Second: Bowen Bronson, 6 Third: Hazel McGinn, 5 A Grant Union High School student won bar- rel racing at the state’s high school rodeo Aug. 28 Bailey McCracken, a sophomore, won the bar- rel racing competition, an event where a horse and rider attempt to run a pat- tern around barrels in the fastest time. In barrel racing she took first with a time of 17.025 She took fourth and fifth place in pole bend- ing. Her older brother, Sam McCracken, took second in the cutting competition and third in reined cow. Dayville High School student Rowdy Israel par- ticipated in goats, break- away, barrel racing and pole bending, while Sarah Clark, a Grant Union student, par- ticipated in pole bending and barrel races as well. TOM CHRISTENSEN CHRISTENSEN TOM CONSTRUCTION (541) 410-0557 • (541) 575-0192 CCB# 106077 B REMODELS • NEW CONSTRUCTION • POLE BUILDINGS CONCRETE EXCAVATION • SHEET ROCK • SIDING ROOFING • FENCES • DECKS • TELESCOPING FORKLIFT SERVICES S258725-1 S259431-1 SPORTS SCHEDULE Macy Carter, left, presents a young rodeo competitor with a belt buckle Saturday at the Grant County Junior Rodeo awards show in the heritage barn of the fairgrounds. All-around champion Callie Smith-Giovanini Calf riding First: Callie Smith-Giovanini, 66 Second: Kale Tremblay, 65 Third: Cole Molly, 60 Poles First: Josie Kimball,23.597 Second: Millie McCoin,24.34 Third: Kinglslee Green, 24.727 Goats First: Brinlee Smith-Giovanini, 14.132 Second: Jadon Snow, 14.157 Third: Riggin McGinnn, 15.192 McCracken nabs top spot in barrel racing Prairie City football vs. South Wasco County, 7 p.m. Prairie City volleyball vs. Harper, 5:30 p.m. NEW FALL APPAREL Grant Union football @ Lost River, 1 p.m. BOOTS * JEANS * SHIRTS * HATS Prairie City volleyball @ Elgin, 1 p.m. Mon-Fri 9am-6pm • Sat 9am-5pm 234 NW Front St., Prairie City • 541-820-3675 S259934-1 SATURDAY, SEPT. 18 Show off your hunting skills BRAGGIN' RIGHTS HUNTING PHOTO CONTEST ENTER NOW bluemountaineagle.com/braggin-rights H