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East Aurora student urges board to add boys volleyball program
Summary
A rising junior at East Aurora High School told the Aurora East USD 131 Board of Education that students have gathered a petition asking the district to create a boys volleyball team, saying the move would expand athletic opportunities and balance offerings between boys and girls.
Edgar Junes, a rising junior at East Aurora High School, asked the Aurora East USD 131 Board of Education on July 28 to start a boys volleyball program at the high school.
Junes told the board he and other student athletes want the chance to play a school-sponsored boys volleyball team at East Aurora. He said his older sisters participated in the school's volleyball program, one now serving as a varsity assistant coach, and that the district currently has more opportunities available for girls than for boys in volleyball. "Adding a boys volleyball program would not only bring balance and offer boys the same opportunity to pursue a sport they love," Junes said, and noted the students had gathered a petition with more than 200 signatures before the meeting.
The board responded during the public-comment item that the proposal would be considered and that staff would look for future opportunities to expand offerings. A board member praised the students for advocating on behalf of their fellow athletes and encouraged the students to continue engagement with the district.
The request was presented during the public comment portion of the July 28 meeting; no formal action, motion, or vote to create a program was taken that evening. The board did not set a follow-up date for a decision during the meeting. If the district pursues the proposal, next steps would typically include staff analysis of costs, Title IX implications, scheduling, and potential effects on existing programs; none of those steps were directed on the record at this meeting.
Members of the public who spoke about the item were students representing East Aurora High School and Simmons Middle School athletes; no outside organizations or funding sources were announced at the time of the request.
The board moves next into a scheduled budget presentation and other agenda items; this public comment episode was considered part of the meeting's public comment period.
