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Parents and advocates press board for girls wrestling program and equitable resources
Summary
Multiple residents asked the board to address equity issues in the district wrestling program: lack of a girls team, unequal locker-room access, missing scale for weigh-ins and delayed uniforms. Parents said more than 30 girls signed a petition seeking support. The district said it has shared survey results with the board and will follow up.
Public commenters at the May 20 Wyoming Area School Board meeting pressed the district to address what they described as unequal treatment of girls involved in the wrestling program, citing lack of locker-room access, no designated scale for weigh-ins, delayed uniforms and the absence of a formally recognized girls team.
Tiffany Bonnie Harding told the board she has repeatedly raised these concerns and said the athletic director’s response at a prior meeting focused on procedural or personal matters rather than addressing the girls’ access and resources. "The issue isn't whether I reached out to the AD. The issue is that he had to practically reach out to any of the girls or their families to ask about their experiences," Harding said. She said that if there is no girls program, the existing program must be run as coed with equal resources and access.
Todd Bonning, who said he submitted a written proposal to the board, asked three specific questions: for an update on survey results showing interest from girls (he referenced more than 30 girls who signed petitions), a timeline for when the written proposal will be added to the agenda and a contingency plan to ensure fair distribution of PIAA points if a girls team is not formed in the next year. He also noted there are female-only wrestling tournaments in the area and urged the board not to allow another year without giving girls the opportunity to compete at the school level.
The administration response in the meeting: a district representative said the survey results had been shared with the board and that staff would double-check legal questions about sharing the survey and then contact petitioners directly with the results. That reply was read during public comment and recorded as a commitment to follow up; the speaker said he would check with the solicitor about sharing the survey and then contact the parents.
Board members and administration did not take immediate formal action on the request for a girls wrestling program during the May 20 meeting. Commenters said they will return to future meetings until the district addresses the resources and recognition they seek.
Speakers calling for action asked the board to treat the girls’ competitive opportunities and program supports as an equity issue rather than an individual or personnel dispute.
