The superintendent of Richland-Bean Blossom Community School Corporation said competition for enrolling students is why it will not schedule sports events with the charter school Seven Oaks Classical School.
The school district and Seven Oaks are in Ellettsville.
“The State of Indiana has put schools in a situation in which we have to compete for students in our own area,” RBB superintendent Jerry Sanders said. “As a result, schools have to maintain competitive advantages that make them an attractive option for families.”
Earlier this month, Seven Oaks Headmaster Stephen Shipp said the athletic department had trouble scheduling middle schoolers in the Monroe County cross country meet, which Edgewood hosts. Seven Oaks had competed in this meet the past few years.
In a letter to families, Shipp said RBB has a standing policy not to schedule athletic competition with Seven Oaks. Sanders said it’s a “practice,” not a policy.
“Be assured, Seven Oaks wants to compete,” Shipp said. “We want to measure ourselves against more established programs and let those programs show up how far we’ve come and where we need to grow. We want to spend less time traveling and more time competing within our own community.”
Shipp hopes Sanders will reconsider.
“They can’t ignore us forever,” Shipp said in the letter. “In the meantime, however, their refusal is pushing us to think more positively – to ask ourselves what it looks like to be a community leader. If anything, we’re more motivated than ever to create new opportunities for our kids and new partnerships within our community.”
