Garner-Hayfield-Ventura will reconsider vote against North Central Conference

Just two days after delaying the North Central Conference’s plan to expand to 12 teams and two divisions, GHV has announced they will reconsider the expansion plan later this month.

KIOW broke the news late last week that the North Central Conference was eyeing an expansion plan that included three schools from the Top of Iowa Conference: Forest City, GHV, and Eagle Grove.

The NCC Executive Board proposed two divisions: tradition and pride. During a September meeting, the board voted on those divisions and the invites.

(Schools from biggest to smallest using ’23-’24 BEDS (Basic Educational Data Survey) numbers.

Tradition: Webster City (407), Charles City (383), Clear Lake (356), Algona (352), Humboldt (350), Hampton-Dumont-CAL (344)

Pride: Iowa Falls-Alden (283), Eagle Grove (249), Forest City (239), Clarion-Goldfield-Dows (229), GHV (223), St. Edmond’s (118)

All three schools brought the invite to a vote Monday at their monthly school board meetings, and Forest City and Eagle Grove both voted unanimously in favor with the contingency that all schools vote to confirm. GHV, on the other hand, voted 3-2 against derailing the original plan.

GHV didn’t respond for comment after Monday’s meeting, but in a release Wednesday night, the school announced they would reconsider the vote, saying, “Following the recent decisions of Eagle Grove and Forest City to join the NCC, our district has the chance to reconsider our own participation in this conference. This could greatly enhance our athletic schedules and benefit our athletes and community”.

Scheduling, especially of under-level games, has become more difficult as the number of students at schools in the Top of Iowa Conference has dwindled. Games in some sports have even had to be modified to play just two quarters in basketball, or on some nights, curtain-raiser games aren’t being played at all.

“This is a rare chance for us to build schedules from scratch, allowing us greater control and flexibility. As Activities Directors, we are currently navigating scheduling challenges that force us to accommodate other schools’ timelines. The NCC setup would alleviate some of these challenges, providing a more structured and balanced schedule”, said GHV AD Randy Hall.

As KIOW noted in previous stories, the NCC is primed to expand regardless of the outcome of GHV reconsidering. The North Central Conference will likely find a replacement for GHV or move forward with 11 schools until a 12th can be recruited, but this might be Garner-Hayfield-Ventura’s last chance at the opportunity.

“We are excited about this opportunity to expand our conference and believe it will enrich the experiences of our students, staff, and communities. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of this invite,” said the NCC Executive Board in their official invite sent to Forest City, GHV, and Eagle Grove.

According to GHV, the North Central Conference has given the schools until December 1, 2024, to make a decision that will allow for effective planning.

If approved, the three schools will join the current NCC members and non-voting member Charles City in the expanded conference before the 2026-2027 school year.

A public information meeting will take place on Monday, November 18, at 7:00 PM in the high school media center at GHV. “This meeting will provide an opportunity for the community to hear the latest updates and the impact this decision could have on our programs,” the school said.