MARION SCHOOL BOARD WILL COUNTER PROPOSAL
The Marion School Board neither approved nor rejected the all-sports cooperative proposal given to them by the Freeman Public School District last week. Instead, board members agreed to see if there was any room for negotiation that would make it feel more like a partnership. The 60-minute discussion took place at the Marion School Board’s regular monthly meeting Tuesday night, Jan. 11.
The proposal that would establish an all-sports cooperative between Freeman Public, Freeman Academy and Marion was approved by the Freeman School Board 4-1 Monday night, Jan. 10, and tabled by the Freeman Academy Board of Directors that same night.
Marion’s primary grievance was that the proposal handed to them at a task force meeting Wednesday, Jan. 5 wasn’t the agreement that had been talked about in two previous meetings. Rather than the closer 50/50 split they were expecting, the proposal gave Freeman Public the vast majority of the games in girls and boys basketball and volleyball — seven home games for Freeman Public, two for Marion and one for Freeman Academy.
Marion school officials used the words “hijacked” and “taken over” to describe how they felt.
Still, board members agreed they wanted to keep the dialogue open with Freeman Public as opposed to Parker, their closest neighbor with whom they have also been in discussions.
