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Urbandale receives invitation to Little Hawkeye; board to hold work session and decision expected in February
Summary
District administrators said the Little Hawkeye Conference invited Urbandale and other schools to join; the board will hear a comparative presentation Feb. 10 and is scheduled to consider a decision Feb. 24 with earliest conference move possible in 2026–27.
District administrators told the board the Little Hawkeye Conference has formally invited Urbandale and several other schools to join and described a decision timeline and community-feedback process.
The district said it received an official invitation and will present comparison information on the Little Hawkeye and the Central Iowa Metro League (CIML) at a Feb. 10 work session. Administrators told the board they plan to ask for a board decision on Feb. 24. If the board decides to leave the CIML, administrators said the earliest the district could join the Little Hawkeye would be the 2026–27 school year because of scheduling and conference notice rules.
Administrators said they will send a ParentSquare survey limited to current parents, guardians, students and staff (including coaches) to gather community feedback; the district plans to include background information in the message and to permit a short response window because the board needs materials for the Feb. 10 meeting. Administrators said survey results will not substitute for the board’s decision but will give the board additional community input. The district requested coaches provide sport-specific feedback on travel, competition and logistics.
During the public-comment period, a resident identified as Mr. Salmon (address given) urged the board to weigh athletic impacts and argued that Urbandale girls high-school basketball participation and competitiveness had fallen during recent CIML alignments, saying the program had declined from about 40 players to 16 and that extended blowout losses contributed to player attrition. The resident urged the board to consider those competitive and participation impacts when deciding on conference affiliation.
Administrators and board members discussed survey wording, the importance of providing links and background context, and whether to send the survey after the Feb. 10 presentation to permit informed responses. Administrators suggested two-week feedback windows tied to agenda deadlines so results could be included for board review.
