Sports policy changes in Muscogee school district. Here’s who will be affected and how
Students attending a Columbus arts school will be allowed more opportunities to play sports.
During its monthly meeting Monday night, the Muscogee County School District Board unanimously approved superintendent David Lewis’ recommendation to revise the Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts policy.
The move, effective July 1, permit students in grades 9-12 to participate in any Georgia High School Association interscholastic sport on a team at their respective zoned school if Rainey-McCullers doesn’t offer that sport.
The permission is granted with some stipulations:
A student may not participate in GHSA extracurricular activities for Rainey-McCullers and for their zoned school. They must choose one school to represent each year.
No transportation will be provided for Rainey-McCullers students to participate in GHSA extracurricular activities for their zoned school.
If a scheduling conflict arises, Rainey-McCullers events, such as rehearsals, performances and exhibitions, take precedence and have priority over any zone school sports practice or contest.
Rainey-McCullers students missing instructional time to attend school athletic events are responsible for making up all work, such as assignments, assessments, presentations and labs.
Failure to adhere to this policy will result in a commensurate negative impact on the student’s grade(s) and withdrawal from Rainey-McCullers.
Yearlong effort
The vote culminates a yearlong effort by Rainey-McCullers junior Rene Rodriguez IV and his parents to receive permission for him to play baseball for Hardaway High School.
Rene’s mother, Lindsay Woodson, told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email Monday night the she and her son support the revised policy as written.
“His reaction is pure happiness,” Woodson said. “The smile on his face when he heard it was a unanimous yes, I will never forget it. He is so excited for the opportunity this will open up for him to play baseball his senior year.
“Rene is also eager to see how the students support this as well as the participation going forward with his peers, he looks forward to seeing other succeed in their passions,” Woodson added.
Rene resides in Hardaway’s attendance zone. That means he would attend there if he weren’t a student at Rainey-McCullers, a total magnet school without an attendance zone but with an enrollment comprising students from throughout MCSD.
Rainey-McCullers, which opened in 2017, is a school for students in grade 6-12 who want to specialize in art, creative writing, dance, film, music or theater. It didn’t offer any interscholastic sports until the beginning of this school year, when teams were started for cross country, golf, swimming/diving and tennis.
Only those sports were allowed, Lewis told the L-E in February, because they are “more individually based and coached by members of their staff and are therefore not dependent on the schedules of multiple coaches of team sports from the eight other high schools.”
Rene, however, wants to play high school baseball.
He and his parents read the GHSA bylaws and found a rule that allows students who attend a magnet school to participate in extracurricular activities at the school where they reside in the attendance zone — as long as the school board approves.
They presented their case to the board during its December meeting. Because their presentation was during the public agenda portion of the meeting and not on the action agenda, the board didn’t vote on the request or discuss the issue at the meeting.
On Jan. 12, Rene’s parents met with Lewis, who told them he opposes their request. On Feb. 8, MCSD communications director Kimberly Wright emailed the L-E a statement from Lewis that says in part:
“Our district is an avid supporter of both athletics and the arts, but given the initial vision for the school and the inevitable scheduling conflicts that would arise, students must choose to attend the Rainey-McCullers SOTA for what it offers or to attend a comprehensive high school that offers the arts and interscholastic sports that are available at their zoned high school.”
Opinion change?
During the board’s Feb. 25 retreat, the administration presented the results of its survey asking MCSD principals, athletics directors and coaches whether they favor Rainey-McCullers students participating in sports for their zoned school. Nearly two-third (62% of the 39 respondents) answered no.
In March, Lewis’ administration presented the board the policy revision that allows Rainey-McCullers students to play sports for their zoned school. Asked to explain his rationale for the change, Lewis told the L-E in an email then, “This is not my recommendation but that of a consensus of the Board following the February 25th retreat.”
Asked why the proposal opposes the survey’s majority opinion, Lewis wrote, “From time to time, there are going to be differences of philosophy and opinion among members of the Governance Team. In this instance I respectfully disagreed with the original proposal for the reasons reflected in my previous response to you on February 8, which happens to correspond with the results of the survey you referenced.
“However, after the Board Retreat on Feb. 25th, the recommendation was revised to now include a provision that prioritizes Rainey-McCullers activities that allows flexibility for those students who may be able to participate in inter-scholastic sports and also maintains the original intent and integrity of the school and its programming.”
Woodson said she is “just ecstatic and proud” that their family’s effort has been rewarded with this policy change.
“At times, the process was mentally draining, but as a family we stuck together and saw it through,” she said. “It was worth it to know the change our family has made at Rainey-McCullers. I feel like my son will leave a mark there. He will be remembered for how he advocated for his classmates. My son can proudly say he is part of policy change. It wasn’t easy, but it will mean so much more to him in the end.
“We are so very grateful to everyone that listened to us, that supported us through this and who will continue to support us going forward.”
