BY KARISSA MILLER

Members of the Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education spent time Monday discussing their views on whether I-SS schools should be required to play against one another when larger schools have an advantage when it comes to talent, player development and overall team depth.

According to Richard Armstrong, associate superintendent of operations and athletics, the district’s current policy gives schools the option not to play a district opponent that is a classification above them.

When the policy was approved, I-SS had schools in 2A, 3A and 4A classifications. Currently, North Iredell, West Iredell and Statesville are 3A schools, while Lake Norman and South Iredell compete at the 4A level. Classifications are based on student enrollment.

Recent scores provide evidence of the disparity between the district’s 4A and 3A schools in football:

♦ Lake Norman beat West Iredell 55-0, defeated North Iredell 42-0 and knocked off Statesville 35-14.

♦ South Iredell defeated North Iredell 44-7, Statesville 29-13 and West Iredell 43-6.

When West Iredell played Lake Norman, it was a true David vs. Goliath matchup, Armstrong said.

“It basically wore down West Iredell’s players,” said Armstrong, who attended the game.

“Afterwards, I received different emails from people in the community. One was from a coach. Basically, he stated that they work hard to get their athletes to do the best that they can, but it takes a lot of wind out of their sails when you pit them up against Lake Norman High School,” he added.

Armstrong said that the West Iredell players fought hard, but because the school has fewer players on its team some players play both offense and defense, which is a disadvantage.

Board member Bill Howell said that he didn’t want to hurt the larger schools, such as Lake Norman, which may have to travel outside of the county to find enough games.

Board member Doug Knight also raised concerns about student safety and said that “the probability of injuries goes up” when smaller schools face larger ones.

“In a policy, I think, we should have it that they can choose,” Knight said.

Board member Martin Page brought up concerns about Title IX, which protects students from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities.

As a result, the board clarified that any new athletics policy on scheduling would include all boys and girls sports, not just football.

Next Steps

The board directed Armstrong to obtain feedback from all I-SS athletic directors, gather parent input and hold a public hearing for the public to provide feedback on this policy in November.