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Gettysburg AD outlines potential football cooperative with Fairfield; board to convene small committee with Fairfield
Summary
Gettysburg’s athletic director proposed a cooperative football sponsorship with Fairfield, estimating preliminary per‑player cost‑sharing and advising the board to convene a small committee with Fairfield and district administrators to resolve logistics before any vote.
Cody, Gettysburg’s athletic director, presented a proposed cooperative sponsorship for football with Fairfield School District after Fairfield curtailed its varsity season for safety reasons.
Cody said Gettysburg’s current football program expenses for the season were roughly $82,000. Using current participation numbers and Fairfield’s tentative plan to send about 15 players, Cody estimated a per‑player cost to Fairfield of about $872 under a simple pro‑rated model, which would translate to roughly $13,000 from Fairfield for the season under that estimate. He emphasized the calculation was preliminary and would be refined based on final program expenses and participation counts.
The presentation addressed PIAA classification implications: adding Fairfield’s participants to Gettysburg’s male enrollment (473) plus half of Fairfield’s male enrollment (about 53) would move the combined figure toward the middle of the 5A classification; Cody said he did not expect the co‑op to push Gettysburg into 6A.
Cody explained that the cooperative agreement would be binding for two years; in years three and four both districts would need to agree to continuation or provide documented reasons to PIAA to end the coop. He noted the usual growing pains in the first year of any cooperative and said his prior experience with coops typically improved in year two and year three.
Board members discussed logistics and urged quick action to avoid leaving Fairfield players and families in limbo. Several members suggested a small delegation—three Gettysburg board members, district administrators and Fairfield counterparts—meet quickly to reconcile details including roster impacts, costs, and whether related activities (cheer, marching band) would be included.
The board directed three board members to meet with Cody and district administrators and to coordinate a meeting with Fairfield representatives; staff will return to the board with an informational update at the next meeting before any formal action.
