(12/24) Fairfield Area School District administrators are asking the board to decide whether to continue with a junior varsity football schedule or allow some athletes to play for another school district.
Athletic Director Keith Bruck told several dozen people gathered in the high school auditorium in early November that he and High School Principal Brian McDowell do not believe the district has enough students to support football, wrestling, or field hockey teams. Alternatively, the district could enter into co-op agreements with nearby Gettysburg or Waynesboro.
Fairfield Area High School’s current enrollment is 277 students, Bruck said. The district offers 16 sports. Enrollment has decreased annually for 20 years, Bruck said. This fall, Superintendent Thomas Haupt canceled the varsity football season because the team did not have enough players to field a team safely.
Bruck told the crowd that co-oping with Gettysburg or Waynesboro is what he and McDowell believe is the best of four options.
The district could, Bruck said, continue to have 16 teams competing in the York Adams Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA). However, Bruck said, that scenario is likely not sustainable.
If Fairfield students play for Gettysburg or Waynesboro teams, the district must transport them to those schools. The district will not permit students to leave school early to ensure they arrive to practice on time.
The school district that accepts Fairfield students will likely charge Fairfield Area School District. Bruck said those costs could be less than the cost of hosting sporting events or running its own program.
Bruck said co-oping does not guarantee a Fairfield student will make a team that requires tryouts or that a Fairfield student will get play time if they are on the team.
The board must decide in December if it wants to seek a co-op agreement for the 2025 football season. The other school’s board of directors would also need to vote to accept Fairfield’s players. Bruck said he has had positive conversations with Gettysburg and Waynesboro’s athletic directors but stressed that they do not speak on behalf of their board members. If Fairfield schedules a JV-only season, it would need to seek permission from YAIAA to have senior students play.
"I strongly encourage the co-op. It gives our student-athletes opportunities at the appropriate level," he said.
The board will then need to decide in March if it wants to co-op for field hockey and in April if it wants to co-op for wrestling.
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