Fayette’s Board of Education tasked the district’s newest superintendent, Brent Doolin, with bringing further information to a future meeting regarding the proposal to add a wrestling program. During their June meeting, board members heard a pitch from James Briggs, a parent and youth wrestling coach, who would like to see the sport adopted at Fayette.

Mr. Briggs even went so far as to pledge $5,000 of his own money toward the start of a program.

During the board’s latest meeting on Wednesday, August 17, members held a discussion among themselves, although Mr. Briggs and several supporters were in attendance. However, the board did suggest it would host a public forum on the matter.

Questions raised by the board concerned startup costs and how to fund the team year to year. While the district currently maintains an uncommonly high fund balance thanks to funding that was poured into schools nationwide by the federal government as a reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, a good portion of that money will pay for a district-wide HVAC system that is nearly complete. Additionally, the board has budgeted to run at a deficit over the coming years to use the remainder of those funds.

Other questions posed by the board included those regarding scheduling and opponents, equipment, coaches, team participants, and Title IX. Matt Hudson, the board’s vice president, wondered if it would be best to start a youth program in anticipation of a high school varsity team.

Board member Aaron Bentley noted that there are 32 schools with wrestling programs within a 75-mile radius of Fayette, and 15 of those are in Class 1. Due to the nature of wrestling, teams can compete against any team in the state, regardless of class, since wrestlers compete in individual weight classes.

Doolin said it is unlikely he will have answers to all of those questions before the board’s next meeting on Wednesday, September 21. Regardless, even if the board last week had voted to start a team, which competes during the winter, it would not be implemented until the next school year at the earliest.