Athletics director outlines growth, equipment requests and plan for girls wrestling

Miss Badami, the district's director of athletics and supervisor of physical education, told the board the athletics program has expanded over the past decade and is now nearly at capacity, with new middle-school teams and freshman-level squads at the high school.

"We are in a great position to do this," she said, summarizing recent additions, which include middle school volleyball and lacrosse. Badami said the district rotates capital items across sports and that her top requests for 2026-27 include upgrading the gym's scoring table to a digital scoreboard with video and advertising capabilities and modest increases to rental fees for off-site activities.

On girls wrestling, Badami said the program already fields athletes at middle and high school levels but lacks a dedicated girls coach. She told the board girls wrestling participation averages about seven or eight students currently and that a dedicated coach for both middle and high school "would likely double" participation and allow the district to compete more regularly in red-division schedules.

Board members asked about weight classes and whether nearby schools can provide opponents; Badami said the GMC conference already includes multiple white and red-division teams and that schedules similar to boys wrestling are feasible. She estimated the primary cost to establish girls wrestling at both levels would be the salary for a dedicated coach; equipment and uniforms are already in place.

The board did not vote on funding or staff changes at the meeting; the presentation concluded with questions from trustees.