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Parents and athletic director spar over access to Piper varsity stadium; board to compile options for future discussion
Summary
Community members urged the board not to charge residents to use district athletic facilities while the district’s athletic director defended locking the stadium to protect varsity competition; trustees asked staff to compile availability, reservation and policy options for a future board discussion.
Two public speakers at the April 13 Piper Board of Education meeting presented opposing views on community access to varsity athletic facilities and prompted the board to schedule a focused discussion at a future meeting.
Destiny Flournoy, a community member who addressed the board during public comment, said community members have paid via taxes and bonds to build the facilities and should not be charged to use them. "We don't wanna make community members pay to use things they already paid for," she said, and described a petition she said collected 665 signatures asking the district to avoid pay-to-use policies. She asked the board to consider facility-use curriculum agreements, a 'see something, say something' policy, permit-only practice for outside teams, and a community-staffed review committee.
Brian Gray, identified himself as an athletic director at Pike High School, thanked the board for securing the district’s varsity athletic facilities and argued protection was necessary to preserve competition-ready surfaces. "This facility was built and maintained for specific purposes ... it should be protected and used accordingly," Gray said, citing recurring problems when the stadium was left open — damaged nets, human waste, and unauthorized adult leagues — and said reservations through the district office ensure proper supervision and care. "Locking the facility is a necessary step in upholding that responsibility," he added.
Board members noted they had received emails from both sides and requested staff provide a clear inventory of what facilities are available, how community use is currently managed, and options for scheduling, supervision and reserved use. Trustees agreed to return the item for a focused public discussion with clearer data on availability, policy options and any costs; no new policy or fee was adopted at the meeting.
The chair also reminded speakers that personnel and individual student matters are exempt from public comment under KSA 45-221 §4 and that public comments are recorded for the district educational access channel.
The board subsequently included facilities among continuous improvement topics to be developed for a future meeting so trustees can consider policy changes informed by staff-collected data and additional public input.
