Board approves tri-district field-hockey agreement and discusses transport, uniforms and cost sharing

The board approved a draft field-hockey program agreement covering a tri-district arrangement among Salem, Cambridge, and a partner district. Administrators said the agreement establishes a framework for merging teams when needed and sets out how costs will be apportioned by participation percentages and how host-school responsibilities (scheduling, officials, communications) will be handled.

Board members emphasized the need to track transportation costs and to keep athletics spending transparent for taxpayers. One member asked whether merged teams would incur new uniform costs; athletic administrators said the first year would minimize purchases (players would generally wear the host-school uniform and only small items like socks might be purchased jointly). Administrators also said they will track each merged sport's costs annually and settle any balances at year-end.