(This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy)
An Oct. 14 meeting of the Urbandale school board opened on a low note.
The first public comment centered around the J-Hawks' athletics programs and their struggles to compete in the Central Iowa Metropolitan League.
Urbandale parent Marc Salmon provided details of the school's athletics woes:
“The whole point of a conference is to provide the right level of competition for our kids, that will increase athletic participation,” Salmon said, according to video of and minutes from that Oct. 14 meeting. “A good conference that provides good matches, exciting games and rivalries. The CIML provides none of that for our kids in any sport.”
Salmon noted that the CIML was formed in 1991, when the Des Moines metro area looked much different. Since then, the league has added affluent suburban schools such as Ankeny Centennial, Johnston, Waukee and Waukee Northwest. Those newcomers are among the top athletics schools in the state, and Urbandale is having trouble competing against them as well as CIML originals such as Dowling Catholic, Southeast Polk and West Des Moines Valley.
Some former CIML schools have decided in recent years to move to different conferences where they can better compete. Those include Ames, Indianola and the Des Moines Public Schools.
Salmon believes it's time for Urbandale to do the same, and it’s clear that he isn’t alone in his thinking. Three other members of the community – Eric Cannon, Brandon Rinnan and Jake Troja – all commented on Urbandale’s struggles in its current conference, with Troja being the only speaker who advocated for staying in the CIML.
Cannon spoke about a survey sent by the school board to students and families about the possibility of leaving the CIML. There were 518 responses to that Sept. 30 survey, in which respondents were asked whether the district should stay in the CIML – 259 said no, 201 said yes and 58 said no opinion.
He also cited how players from the girls softball team left to play for schools like Waukee Northwest and Dallas Center-Grimes.
“Do we want to continue to see these kids and their families leave Urbandale?” Cannon said.
Urbandale has the smallest enrollment of the schools in the CIML, and it is the only school in the conference with fewer than 1,000 students, according to the Basic Educational Data Survey from the Iowa Department of Education.
Valley, the CIML's largest school, is more than double Urbandale’s size, with an enrollment of 2,290. The J-Hawks' total enrollment is 969.
One of the options that Urbandale seems to be considering is the Little Hawkeye Conference, which features seven teams: Dallas Center-Grimes, Indianola, Newton, Norwalk, Oskaloosa, Pella and Pella Christian.
Dr. Rosalie Daca, Urbandale's superintendent, fielded questions about a potential increase in travel costs and time out of school for athletes if Urbandale did change conferences, whether other conferences would want Urbandale to join, and what would happen to the J-Hawks' co-op programs.
But since that meeting, the Urbandale school board elected to do more research before making any decisions.
The Des Moines Register reached out to the district for comment, and Urbandale provided this statement:
“Urbandale Community School District values the feedback received from students, parents, and staff regarding the District’s participation in the CIML. While preferences for staying or leaving the CIML vary, we know everyone is coming from a place of wanting to do what is best for students now and in the future. We are working with our Board of Directors and community to collect information on all potential outcomes related to conference affiliation. We will continue keeping stakeholders informed about this important topic.”
(This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy. Grinnell is currently in the Wamac Conference.)
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at [email protected] or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.