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Board hears proposals for new color guard and junior high girls wrestling; no votes taken
Summary
Administrators presented proposals to reestablish a color guard (estimated first-year cost $2,000) and to start a junior high girls wrestling program after 21 students expressed interest; board discussed logistics, staffing, transportation and competition availability but did not take formal action.
Administrators asked the Danville Area School District board to consider two extracurricular additions: reestablishing a color guard for marching-band events and launching a junior high girls wrestling program.
Band director Laura Garside proposed restarting color guard. Staff reported an interest survey of students entering grades 9–12 found 48 responses with 27 expressing interest; suggested first-year costs included a $1,500 adviser stipend and $500 for equipment repair, for an estimated $2,000 start-up cost. "There are uniforms still left over from when we had a color guard before and also equipment," staff said, adding local band-community support could help in-kind.
On junior high girls wrestling, staff said 21 girls indicated interest; some currently join the boys'team while others would be new participants. Administrators and the athletic director said the sport is growing regionally and that roughly eight nearby districts now offer junior-high girls wrestling. Cost considerations include a junior-high coach salary, uniforms, transportation and tournament fees. Board members asked about tournament logistics, transportation and whether girls would have competitive opportunities; staff said some tournaments run boys and girls side-by-side and that having a girls team would let girls earn their own points instead of combining with boys.
Nut graf: both proposals are at the program-discussion stage: administrators presented interest counts, start-up cost estimates and operational questions; neither proposal was on the consent calendar for immediate approval and no votes were taken.
Board members discussed whether color guard would be a graded class (staff said it would be an extracurricular) and whether adding participants would require additional transportation resources for fall football events (staff said existing bus capacity often accommodates auxiliary participants). On wrestling, staff noted regional growth and recommended watching local schedules to ensure sufficient competition.
Ending: Staff will proceed with normal hiring and program-approval procedures if the board elects to add either activity; the board did not vote on either item tonight.
