Letter requests improvements for LPOSD girls sports

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A letter sent to the Lake Pend Oreille School Board on Monday following a Title IX complaint against the district last week is requesting numerous additions for access to girls interscholastic sports, facilities, transportation, competitive schedules and other accommodations.

The letter opens with a reference to a Daily Bee article from this May covering the return of Sandpoint Middle School’s “Bullpup” football after 10 years, and LPOSD Superintendent Tom Albertson’s support of, and involvement in, the program.

“Normally, it would be admirable when district administration takes an active role in student activities and sports,” wote Mark Rossmiller, who identified himself as a Sandpoint resident and collaborator with the National Women's Law Center. “[B]ut not so when it is entirely focused on the male students while disregarding and discriminating [against] the female students and their families within the district. I would ask that Mr. Albertson cease his own biased involvement in promoting boy’s football and other boys’ sports until he and the school athletic directors provide the same promotional involvement in equal participation opportunity for the female student and their sports programs.”

The complaint, filed Thursday of last week, cited alleged Title IX violations dating back to 2002, and history of underrepresentation in girls sports the complainants argue was dismissed using an interest survey that did not follow best practices and “excused” inequitable treatment by the district.

It further alleged, among other things, that coaching contracts for boys sports “far exceeded” overall compensation for girls sports, and requested that the Seattle Office of Civil Rights investigate the district.

In an email Monday, Albertson said the district is aware of the complaint and intends to work with the ORC to address concerns should the office undertake an investigation.

“LPOSD recognizes the importance of interscholastic activities for all students interested in participating, and we work diligently to ensure that all sports teams, regardless of gender, have fair and equal sports opportunities,” Albertson wrote. “This school district believes that extracurricular activities play an important part in the development of our students, and we will continue our efforts to create positive experiences for all our students.”

In the letter sent Monday, Rossmiller requests several additions and accommodations, including:

• Adding girls interscholastic middle school soccer and softball with full accommodations
• Elevating girl’s intramural tennis and golf to interscholastic sports; restoring high school girls’ access and accommodations for use “Tyler Taylor” Project 92 football weight training building
• Providing access to the SHS wrestling room for girl’s dance, tennis and softball training during inclement weather
• Requiring equal publicity for girls and boys sports
• Providing complete uniforms, warmups and equipment for all rostered tennis players
• Providing additional resources for girl’s softball; providing interscholastic coaches for girls sports with the same coach-to-athlete ratio and compensation as boy’s football
• Providing equal travel time and competition opportunity to girl’s sports
• Providing new competition levels in existing girls interscholastic sports when the roster becomes inflated to the point that girls are “warming the bench” and not receiving significant one-on-one coaching, play time or practice time