Athletic director presents five-year strategic plan; boosters reorganize

Peter Goff, the district—s athletic director, presented a strategic athletics plan and a five-year implementation document to the DeKalb Board of Education, describing staffing needs, conference changes and booster-club organization. Goff said the plan is meant to create a legacy and a blueprint for successors: "I have 2 years left until I retire," he told the board, framing the plan as a way to leave structures in place for future administrators. He described goals and core values summarized in a BARBS acronym for belonging, adversity, resilience, behavior and support. Goff and board members discussed booster-club reorganization; Goff said two informational meetings drew 40 to 50 people and that a temporary executive committee (president, secretary, treasurer) met to prepare for elections at the start of the school year. "The support was overwhelming and people were coming out," Goff said. On staffing and services, Goff explained the district currently uses Northwestern for athletic trainers under an installment arrangement and said he would provide exact annual costs on request. He described a prior stipend trainer model that no longer exists and said the plan calls for considering a full-time assistant athletic director and in-district athletic trainers to expand services during summer and practices. Goff recounted recent program additions — girls flag football, girls wrestling and boys volleyball — and noted a conference realignment that reduced conference opponents, which changes scheduling demands. He said an expanded staffing model would allow the department to be more strategic in nonconference scheduling and operations. No board motion was taken; the presentation elicited questions about estimated costs and timing. Goff said district staff would follow up with cost estimates for 2026-27 and longer-range projections.