Proposed girls hockey co-op withdrawn by partner district; East Grand Forks says discussion may return next year

East Grand Forks administrators told the school board that a proposed girls hockey cooperative that had been under consideration for next school year was withdrawn by the other district before board action.

Superintendent Grover said the cooperation request initially came to the district about a month or two ago; discussions continued with athletics leadership. Grover said the proposal was intended for the following school year. He explained that Crookston (the partner district) moved to add other schools for the current year and that Sacred Heart ultimately rescinded the request when it needed a firm commitment for this season.

Grover said, “We started pursuing and having conversations for a year from now,” and that after the partner district sought to add additional schools for this year the partner withdrew its request to East Grand Forks. He said, “Next year, we might be sitting here having the conversation again. But right now, once they verbally withdrew it, it's not us saying we won't consider it.”

Nut graf: Board members and administrators described the withdrawal as a partner decision rather than a board rejection; administrators cautioned that declining youth participation at younger grades may make fielding teams more difficult in coming years.

Administrators presented projected participation numbers and warned that low participation in younger grades — numbers in feeder grades “5, 6, 7 and so on” — could force future discussions about the viability of teams. Board members thanked community members who wrote emails advocating for the program and urged similar community engagement on other district staffing and program needs.