FARMINGTON – Maine Principals’ Association sports will not be held at Regional School Unit 9 schools this fall, following a board vote Tuesday evening. Instead, an intramural program will be held at the middle and high school levels.

The school board supported the recommendation of Superintendent Tina Meserve and the administrative team to not return to competitive play through the MPA system this year, via a vote taken Tuesday evening. Meserve said that administrators focused on COVID-19 related district requirements such as mask wearing and keeping at least 3 feet of distance between students, 6 feet of distance between students and adults and 14 feet of distance between unmasked students. Those requirements were based off guidelines from the Center for Disease Control and Department of Education, Meserve said, and couldn’t be met during athletic events.

“We’ve concluded that it’s impossible to meet those guidelines with sporting events,” Meserve said.

The MPA announced on Sept. 10 that it would not be offering football or volleyball during the fall season but that other high school sports, such as field hockey, soccer, cross country and golf, could be offered. Other restrictions include mandatory mask wearing – except for athletes actively playing – limiting crowd sizes and not holding indoor practices.

Meserve said that administrators weighed issues such as busing kids outside the county, staff safety and the advice of the district’s liability insurer in making the recommendation. Other issues included bus capacity, as passenger restrictions increase the number of buses required to transport students, and how athletic teams would interact with the high school’s hybrid model, which splits in-person students into two cohorts.

Roughly 30 percent of the high school population participated in fall sports, Meserve said, but a decision to hold or travel to MPA competitions would impact the entire school when athletes return to class. “The problem is that those students go back into our schools,” Meserve said.

Meserve said that administrators did consider offering cross-country and golf – sports that are less likely to keep athletes in proximity for an extended period of time, as well as cancelling all after-school activities for the fall. Instead, the recommendation was that the high school not participate in any MPA events but instead develop intramural activities that could be held within each cohort.

Directors opposed to the recommendation pointed to other districts that had approved the MPA recommendations. They also spoke to the importance of athletics, particularly given the impact the pandemic has had on students.

“It hasn’t been easy on anyone, especially our youth,” Director Betsey Hyde of Temple.

The guidelines released by the MPA include a paragraph that indicates that the organization ‘[drew] on the expertise’ of a number of state agencies and athletic organizations, including the National Federation of the State High School Associations, the Maine Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association, the Maine Department of Education, Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Department of Community and Economic Development and the MPA’s Sports Medicine Advisory Committee. The MPA also received approval from the Maine School Superintendents Association.

“Everyone seems to be on the same page,” Director Josh Robbins of Vienna said. He argued that there was no way to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19 to zero.

There were inconsistencies between the MPA guidelines and the CDC ones, Meserve said. For example, students participating in an outdoor class, such as physical education, are required to wear a mask and/or maintain social distancing, but athletes actively playing in a soccer game would not.

“The challenge is 3 feet and a mask,” Meserve said.

Director Kirk Doyle of Farmington, who supported offering golf and cross-country but not soccer and field hockey, said that he was angry at the discrepancies between the state guidelines for education and the MPA ones.

“I’m angry at the lack of consistence of messaging,” Doyle said. “There’s a clear conflict here.”

The majority of directors that addressed the issue said that they agreed that athletics were important but thought that sports, particularly the travel aspect, was too risky. Some pointed out that RSU 56 in Dixfield had already closed for two weeks due to a student testing positive for COVID-19. Others referenced comments from a community forum, held earlier.

“I’m not sure that the risk is worth it,” Director Dennis O’Neil said, referencing a comment made at the forum that struck him as important.

Ultimately, the board voted not to participate in MPA sports this fall but instead support the development of intramural programs in the high and middle schools. The final weighted vote was 608 in favor and 268 opposed. Voting in favor was Chair Angela LeClair of Wilton, Vice Chair Jeffrey Harris of New Sharon, Director Cherieann Harrison of Wilton, Director Carol Coles, Director Scott Erb of Farmington, Director Debbie Smith of Weld, Director Dennis O’Neil of Farmington, Director Irv Faunce of Wilton and Director J. Wayne Kinney of Farmington. Opposed to the motion was Director Craig Stickney of Chesterville, Director Betsey Hyde of Temple, Director Kirk Doyle of Farmington, Director Jesse Sillanpaa of Industry and Director Josh Robbins of Vienna were opposed. Director Doug Dunlap and Director Lisa Park-Laflin, both of Farmington, were not present.

Athletic Director Chad Brackett will be working with coaches and building administrators to develop plans for after-school activities, Meserve said, and would report back to the board.