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Mifflin County School District has been asked to enter into a cooperative agreement -- a sports co-op -- with Belleville Mennonite School to allow students at the latter to play football, a proposal that may be discussed again at tonight's school board meeting.
Co-ops -- which are PIAA-sanctioned jointures of varsity, junior varsity and junior high/middle school sports programs -- are not uncommon and have become more so as budgets for athletics tighten and rosters shrink while other activities compete with sports for students' attention.
Such a cooperative agreement would be new territory for Mifflin County, and the school board should explore it with due diligence, considering the possible benefits for both schools. It's highly unlikely a co-op could be fully approved for the upcoming school year -- the PIAA has to sign off on it, too -- but one could begin as early as 2023.
As a member of the PIAA, Belleville Mennonite students already are required to meet the same academic standards as student athletes at Mifflin County, and because the Huskies already play in the highest classification of every sport, there would be no impact on the school's teams in that regard.
Cooperatives of this nature are nothing new -- Juniata County plays host to a number of co-op teams, including Juniata's football program, which began accepting players from East Juniata when that school shut down its gridiron program after the 2017 season.
East Juniata football was itself a co-op for nearly 20 years as the Tigers played home to Midd-West players beginning in 2001. That co-op allowed East Juniata to have its "own" football field -- the Tigers eventually began to play games at West Snyder rather than share Juniata's Dietrick Field -- but support in Juniata County waned as Midd-West became the majority contributor to the football roster.
Currently, the Juniata County schools offer co-ops in football, field hockey, cross country, golf and wrestling, and volleyball was a co-op early in that sport's tenure. And Juniata Christian School's entry into the PIAA opened the door for co-ops with nearby East Juniata.
Belleville Mennonite is no stranger to cooperative sports either -- before joining the Allegheny Christian Athletic Association and creating a girls soccer team, and after the Thunder had difficulty filling its field hockey roster, a co-op was formed in that sport with nearby Huntingdon (which also briefly hosted a boys soccer co-op with Mount Union).
As noted at the board's meeting a week ago, by statute, Mifflin County School District is required to accept home-schooled, cyber charter school and other students who live in the county, but do not attend the public schools, into its athletic programs. And, Belleville Mennonite families -- at least, the ones who live in Mifflin County -- already are paying taxes here as well (should a cooperative be created, all Belleville Mennonite students, regardless of residency, would be eligible).
Ultimately, this could be the beginning of a sound relationship between the two schools, and a great opportunity for more kids to play the sports they love.