ECASD’s Board of Directors Tables Motion to Dissolve the District’s Soccer Program

The Ellwood City Area School District’s Board of Directors voted to table a motion to dissolve the District Soccer program during their regular meeting Thursday night.

The consideration was originally on the agenda after interest in the program seemed to dwindle when a Google Document for sign up wasn’t completed by enough students to develop enough of a roster to hold practices or maintain a consistent team.

Board Director Jean Biehls made the motion to table it until next month to give the students a chance to ramp up recruitment efforts, and the rest of the board unanimously agreed.

During a follow-up phone call with ECASD’s Athletic Director, Curt Agostinelli, after the board meeting, he said he fully supports the district having an official soccer team, however it’s not just a matter of numbers but also a matter of safety in numbers and consistency in numbers.

“We’ve been trying to get a soccer program up and running for a long time,” he said.

Agostinelli said that the numbers just aren’t there. He said although a game can be played with seven players, the ideal number is 11. He explained further that to conduct a productive practice, a team really needs 22 players for a full practice. He said despite the program co-oping with other schools and it being co-ed, only two kids showed up last year on open day for mandatory practice. Agostinelli said the numbers simply have not been consistent.

He also said that safety is another concern as the Ellwood City players are matched up with teams like Avonworth and Hopewell, schools that have youth programs where players have dedicated years to developing skills from youth up to varsity—teams that always have a proper number of players on the field.

“These kids are going to get hurt,” he said. “It’s dangerous.”

He believes in order to be able to have a strong varsity soccer program, it requires a strong youth soccer program, something he said Ellwood City simply does not have. And added that if a varsity soccer program is not a viable option for the district at this time, the soccer players do have the opportunity to play with clubs in the area. Various clinics have been hosted, as recent as February to try to raise awareness and participation to the sport and soccer program.

The 2023 Ellwood City Co-Ed Soccer Team. source: Facebook.com/ECsoccerbooster

A group of heartfelt soccer players and parents asked the board to keep the program intact.

Soccer Parent Michelle Quintanilla, said that although a Google Doc was sent, a lot of the kids said they didn’t get it, and the members who were already on the team didn’t think they needed to sign up again.

“We have at least potentially 11 interested,” she said. “Give these kids a chance.”

Camryn Campbell, soccer player, said she has tried numerous activities and sports and soccer is the one outlet that she feels like she belongs in.

“I have a list of 16 students who want to play,” she said. “All these people love soccer.”

Player Scot Dennis said he can’t imagine not having a soccer program.

“I don’t want to see people I call family not have the sport they love,” he said.

Aidan Crepp, shared the same sentiments, although he is a senior and will not be playing next year, he’d like to see the soccer program remain.

“The soccer team is the only team that made me feel like I was a part of something,” he said.

During his time in the Ellwood City Area School District, he said he had tried other sports like football, but nothing clicked like soccer. He said the fight for soccer has been strong and going on for years and he believes it should continue.

Player Justin Spangler said the team is working hard to recruit people.

“I would love if I could keep playing it,” he said.

Justin’s dad Matthew Spangler, who got a little emotional at the thought of the program ending said he has played soccer for 40 years and was thrilled when his son wanted to follow in his footsteps.

“I don’t want to feel like we are quitting on these kids,” he said. “Every game these kids lost but they stayed dedicated and persevered. I’ve never seen as much love in a group of kids as in this group.”

Other parents made the argument that there are a lot of younger kids who play soccer and are expecting to have a program to play in once they reach high school.

Jack D’Addio asked the board to consider reaching out to partner with other districts that have an established program such as Riverside or Laurel.

Board President Jennifer Tomon told parents in attendance that the administration did reach out to other districts, but the request “fell upon deaf ears.”

Keil Ketterer said he is one of the parents with a young child expecting to have a soccer program to grow into.

The Board urged the team members in attendance to spend the next month recruiting other players before they again have to reconsider dissolving the program during May’s regular meeting. Board Director Biehls added a sentiment for the players that committing to a team requires follow through in showing up for practices and games.

The soccer boosters can be found online on their Facebook.com Page

In other board news:

• Superintendent Wesley Shipley asked the board for guidance in continuing a plan to move forward with a proposed softball field in Ewing Park with stormwater and erosion control permits. The board advised Shipley to get guidance from the contractors on how and when to proceed.
• During the board’s March meeting, Board Director Claire Fauzey suggested revisiting the board’s policy against nepotism in order to open up the candidate pool for jobs within the district. Community members Patty Clout and Lisa Nardone said they aren’t sure that is a good idea. Clout said she believes that there are plenty of candidates seeking teaching positions in the district and Nardone said allowing nepotism “isn’t a good look” for the board.

Motions approved:

• Motion to approve March 11, 2024 Committee Meeting Minutes and March 14, 2024 Regular Meeting Minutes.
• Motion to approve the General Fund Accounts Payable Report.
• Motion to approve the General Fund Treasurers Report as follows:
  • WesBanco Checking $ 1,094,761.18
  • PLGIT GF Prime/Term $ 26,175,681.79
  • Tax Accounts $ $ 1,717,736.60
  • PSDLAF $ 1,453.01
  • PA Invest $ 403.02
  • Total Cash & Investments $ 28,990,035.50
• Motion to approve Delta Dental Insurance renewal for July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2026 at a rate of $5.85 per person a .28 cent increase over last year.
• Motion to approve the Pennsylvania School Boards Association All Access membership for the 2024-2025 school year in the amount of $11,640.12.
• Motion to approve the 2022-23 Audit report as presented by Peter Vancheri of Hosack, Specht, Muetzel, & Wood, LLP during the public Finance Committee Meeting held on April 11 at 6:00 p.m.
• Motion to accept resignations
• Motion to approve the attached list of coaches who will receive extended season pay. https://go.boarddocs.com/pa/ellw/Board.nsf/files/D3YKG6501011/$file/Extended%20Season%20Pay.pdf
• Motion to approve the list of SEIU and professional staff hired for summer help in accordance with the current SEIU Bargaining Unit Agreement.
• Motion to approve Edwina Galbreath as an additional bus driver with Ellwood City Transit.
• Motion to approve additional Non-Professional substitutes: McClean, Patricia –cafeteria and clerical.
• Motion to approve three (3) year extensions to the current head coaches of the following varsity sports teams: Football, Boys Basketball, Wrestling, Track, Cross Country, Bocce, Girls Tennis, Boys Tennis, Volleyball, Girls Golf, Boys Golf, Baseball, and Girls Softball.
• Motion to approve a one time $3,000.00 stipend to Frank Keally for extra work performed during construction, because there was no Clerk of Works at Perry Lower Intermediate that was beyond the scope of his job description.
• Motion to approve Broc Boariu as seventh grade boys basketball coach retroactively for the 2023-24 middle school basketball season.
• Motion to approve Cindie Friello as Yearbook Sponsor for the remainder of the 2023-24 school year.
• Motion to approve the following facility requests:
  • Blue Band Boosters request to use Helling Stadium for the annual Pie Festival on Thursday, August 22, 2024 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
  • Ellwood City Little Wolverine Cheerleaders would like to use the Ewing Park Property to hold Little Wolverine Cheerleading practice on the following dates from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.: Monday, August 19, 2024, Tuesday, August 20, 2024, Monday, August 26 and Tuesday, August 27, 2024 at the discretion of the Athletic Director.
  • EC Baseball head coach is requesting to use the high school baseball field for the annual youth baseball camp for grades K-6 on April 18, 2024 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, April 20, 2024 from 12:00 – 2:00 p.m.
• Motion to dispose of Perry School Library books that are in poor condition and/or outdated as recommended by the school librarian in accordance with Policy 706.1.
• Approve the following field trip/social event requests:
  • Class of 2024 seniors annual trip to Cedar Point, Sandusy, Ohio on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. The coach bus will depart at 8:00 a.m. and return at approximately 8:00 p.m.
  • EC3 trip to PNC Park by bus for the Pirates vs. Cubs game on May 10, 2024. Bus will depart at 4:30 p.m. and return at approximately 11:00 p.m.
• Motion to approve the MIU IV Intergovernmental Agreement for 2024-2025 between MIU IV and the District for the provision of education services by MIU IV to the District.
• Motion for the following new/revised policies that have been on display since the last board meeting be recommended for approval:
  Policy #903 Public Comment in Board Meetings.
• Motion to review and approve Policy #249 Bullying/Cyberbullying in accordance with the Safe Schools requirement.
• Motion to approve School Services Agreement with Bright, Beginnings and Beyond to provide Occupational Therapy during the 2024-2025 school Year at an hourly rate of $72, an increase of $2.00/hr., a flat fee of $225 for evaluations and $175 for Re-evaluations, no change from last year.
• Motion to approve an Agreement with LearnWell to provide Virtual Homebound Instruction at a rate of $66.00 per hour if needed.
• Motion to approve Stat Staffing Agreement for the 2024-2025 school year to provide nursing services at a rate of LPN – $56.88/per hour and RN – $60.88 per hour with a minimum of 4 hours. An increase of $4.00 per hour from last year.
• Motion to approve the Transportation Contract with the Portersville Christian School for the 2024-25 school year at a cost of $141 per day for a total of $25,521 per year shared with the Riverside Beaver County School District, a $724.00 increase from last year.
• Motion to approve the revised 2024-25 school calendar making Thursday, April 17, 2025 an Act 80 day for teachers, no school for students.
• Motion to approve the stipulated agreement for student C.
• Motion to nominate Kevin Boariu for the MIU IV Board.
• Motion to approve the Law Enforcement Memorandums of Understanding between the ECASD and Ellwood City Borough and Pennsylvania State Police as presented.
• Motion to approve a Resolution recognizing approved booster/clubs of the district in order for the group to obtain a small game of chance license.
• Motion to approve Navigate 360 – Behavioral Threat & Suicide Case Management Threat Assessment Platform for an initial investment of $3,984.50 and then $3,334.50 annually for three years from June 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027.