Cobleskill-Richmondville may make another attempt to move its sports teams from the Colonial Council to the Western Athletic Conference.
Athletic Director John Henry and High School Principal Brett Barr will make the pitch to the school board this Monday, the 7th, at 7pm at Golding School.
The meeting is open to the public.
WAC schools for the most part are smaller than those in the Colonial Council. Some C-R teams have struggled in the Council, and supporters of the move feel teams would be more competitive in the WAC, which in turn would increase student participation.
That was the reasoning when supporters first proposed the move in 2015, and they still feel that way now.
The school board rejected the move in a 4-3 vote in 2015, but supporters may have a stronger case now, Mr. Henry said.
In particular, C-R’s declining enrollment makes the move more attractive because the Bulldogs wouldn’t be playing larger schools.
Also, Mechanicville and Watervliet, two schools C-R was competitive with, left the Council, and there’s talk of Troy––a much larger school––coming in.
“Two things have happened since the last time we looked at this,” said Mr. Barr.
“One, our enrollment is declining. Two, the Colonial Council is changing.”
At the same time, Fonda-Fultonville, similar to C-R, joined the WAC, and Johnstown, also similar, is looking to join, Mr. Henry said.
“Johnstown reached out to us that maybe we’d join together,” he said.
Mr. Henry believes C-R is more akin to WAC schools, like Schoharie and Middleburgh, than Colonial schools, many of which are in metro areas––Catholic Central, LaSalle and Lansingburgh, for instance.
“The WAC is definitely a better fit than the Colonial,” Mr. Henry said. “Demographically, our kids fit better with those [WAC] kids.”
He and Mr. Barr are planning a 15-minute presentation to the school board.