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Parents and students urge Grand Rapids board to reverse middle‑school sports cuts, raise Title IX concerns
Summary
Students, parents and coaches pressed the Grand Rapids Public Schools board on March 9 to restore or preserve middle‑school athletic teams — especially girls soccer — arguing the district’s plan to limit schools to one team could violate Title IX; the board did not make a policy change but trustees said they would follow up.
Students, parents and coaches told the Grand Rapids Public Schools board on March 9 that scaling back middle‑school athletics is harming scholars and risks violating federal civil‑rights law.
"Please reconsider the decision to downsize girls' soccer," student Bridal Karai told the board, describing a roster of nearly 30 girls and saying a single oversized team would reduce playing time and development opportunities. Several student speakers and parents said boys teams had not been similarly cut and called the change unfair.
Parent Margareta Kearney told the board the cuts — which will reduce City Middle’s girls soccer from two teams to one this spring — are not just an operational decision and…
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