Board approves three-year memorandum of understanding with Temple Junior Wildcats

The Temple ISD Board of Trustees on Feb. 10 approved a three-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Temple Junior Wildcats Sports Association intended to centralize youth football operations, coordinate facility access and set expectations for safety and academics.

Student Services staff member Steve Prentice presented the MOU, saying the agreement grew from a multi-year effort to consolidate several youth football groups under one association to reduce scheduling conflicts and improve coaching consistency. "The intent was to bring all those under one umbrella," Prentice said. The MOU was drafted with legal review and agreed to by the Junior Wildcats, Prentice added.

Under the MOU the association must maintain a board of directors, adopt bylaws, share participation numbers annually, carry liability insurance, provide schedules to the district and conduct background checks on coaches. Prentice said facility-use fees will remain set at amounts that recover cleaning and security costs, and that the arrangement will continue to give district events priority when conflicts arise.

Trustees and staff described academic expectations as part of the agreement: grade checks and tutoring are required to ensure classroom work remains a priority while athletes participate in youth sports. The MOU term is three years; district counsel reviewed the document and the Junior Wildcats accepted the terms, Prentice said.

Trustee Cook moved to approve the MOU and Trustee Gowen seconded; the board voted in favor on a voice vote. Staff said the agreement formalizes an arrangement the district has followed for about two years and is intended to limit proliferation of small, competing youth associations seeking facility time.

The approved MOU will be used as the district's recognized partnership for youth football facilities and related expectations for safety and academics.