Board weighs possible girls hockey cooperative with Sacred Heart; no decision made

Superintendent Grover and district staff briefed the East Grand Forks Public School District board on an approach from Sacred Heart about a potential cooperative agreement that would allow several Sacred Heart students to play on East Grand Forks’ girls hockey team under a Minnesota State High School League cooperative arrangement. No board action was taken; staff said they would prepare a draft coop agreement for future consideration.

Grover told the board Sacred Heart approached the district about a two‑year agreement, and said the cooperative would likely require board approval under Minnesota State High School League rules. He described the matter as preliminary and noted the district could add stipulations to an agreement but cannot legally prevent students who attend East Grand Forks Public School District schools from participating if enrolled through open enrollment or transfer.

“It's a 2 year agreement,” Grover said, describing the timeline and noting, “I don't see any people from Grand Forks . . . putting their kids in a different school so their kid can play girls hockey over here.” He said the plan could add two or three players now and that parents and coaches he spoke with were largely supportive.

Board members and staff debated practical issues: whether the coop would draw students away from the district’s enrollment and state aid, how fees should be charged, and whether a small short‑term increase in players would solve longer-term participation problems at younger ages. A board member asked staff to gather information from other districts that currently run coops about negative impacts. Another member noted the Minnesota State High School League requires cooperative applications and that some decisions must be made about fees and enrollment prior to providing final approval.

Several board members urged attention to youth feeder programs — for example, local youth hockey or community programs that could sustain numbers into middle and high school — and emphasized that a two‑year arrangement that brings three players may not solve youth‑level shortages. Staff said they would draft a coop agreement and bring recommendations on fees and stipulations to the board at a future meeting.

The board did not vote on the coop at the meeting. Members asked staff to return with a draft agreement, proposed fees and information from other districts that operate cooperative teams.