SHERRARD, Ill. — The Sherrard school district voted to allow students to play basketball with the Illinois High School Association.
In a special meeting on November 4, the Sherrard School Board voted 4-3 to allow students to play basketball with the IHSA.
Superintendent Alan Boucher says the vote was split and he believes everyone is on the same page.
“All of us understand that athletics is a very important part of a child’s school experience. It impacts grades, it impacts graduation rates, it impacts mental health. At the same time, we know it’s not the end all-be all."
School Board member and parent Dan Helm voted in favor of having a season, “Last year’s senior class lost a lot… This year’s senior class stands to lose virtually everything at this point.”
Remote learners will be able to play too, according to Activities Director Michael Applegate.
“We do temperature checks before practice for everybody,” Applegate said IHSA guidelines include extensive sanitization protocols including gym capacity of 50 or less, basketballs used during warm-ups and gameplay must be cleaned and sanitized between uses, the host school should switch balls during full time-outs and between quarters and sanitize the ball taken out of play, face coverings, and off-court social distancing must be adhered to."
He said since players will be wearing masks, players will get a mask/water break.
The board says the hope is that other schools in the conference will follow suit.
