LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — Rumors over Sullivan West High School merging with the Class D combined football team of Roscoe and Livingston Manor motivated a dozen parents clad in their Bulldogs jerseys to present a list of concerns and complaints over a lack of communication to the district’s board of education February 16. 

“We’re not a lynching mob. We don’t want to start a fight. We just want answers. Our kids want answers,” said John Hauschild, the dad of a senior varsity football player.

Hauschild referenced a news article claiming that Sullivan West for the first time ever will not field its own football team this season.

Instead, players from Sullivan West’s current Section IX Class C athletic ranking will allegedly join a team from the smaller Roscoe and Livingston Manor schools.

Hauschild said that the Sullivan West community had no input into this potential decision. He charged that repeated requests by parents of players for a face-to-face meeting to discuss it openly were rebuffed.

“What’s going on? Talk to us. Let us know. Why is it a secret? What is the sole purpose behind it? If there’s a problem with coaching or the students, let’s address it,” he urged the school board.

Litany of concerns

Hauschild calmly raised a host of concerns and questions.

He asked why the Sullivan West football team had lost players, speculating whether “negativity” was responsible, and wondered what will happen if sign-ups are adequate to field a team.

He questioned whether other schools, specifically Eldred or Liberty, had been approached about a merger and if there was any consideration of restructuring modified teams at Sullivan West as an option.

If the merger comes to pass, Hauschild asked how long it would be in effect.

He spoke of the investment that taxpayers made in Sullivan West’s athletic fields, the costs that families bore so their kids could play for their home district, and how the senior class relies on concession sales at games to help finance its annual trip.

“We have a great school and facilities. Now we’re going to ship our kids out to play on fields that are not the quality of ours? Whose equipment will be used? Will our kids be treated fairly? Will they sit on the bench?” he asked.

Other concerns were expressed over transportation to practices and games, scheduling and a potential loss of the camaraderie and pride that bonded the community around Bulldogs football.

After the board of education sat silently through Hauschild’s unlimited time at the podium, vice president Rose Joyce-Turner said that they were listening intently and would respond at the proper time.

“I promise you that you will get answers,” she said.

District response

District Superintendent Dr. Nancy Hackett said only that she has not received any information on whether Section IX has approved the merger, and neither has Roscoe/Livingston Manor Superintendent John Evans whom she regularly consults.

Board member Ken Cohen assured the audience that the merger has not come before Sullivan West’s Board of Education for approval. He feels that the article was in error.

Addressing the parents, Cohen said, “I think it’s really important that you came. You raised really good questions. I’m very troubled by the whole thing. I’m looking for answers as well.”

Sullivan West senior James Burlingame, from his perspective of the newly-inducted student board member at the table, told his fellow members, “I can’t say how important the football program is to the school.”

The River Reporter subsequently obtained a copy of a January 20 letter that Sullivan West athletic director David Franskevicz sent to parents of prospective junior varsity and varsity 2017 football players.

Franskevicz confirmed that there are only 12 returning juniors and seniors intending to play football, according to his interviews with students, which is not enough for the 16 players that Class C competition requires.

He further acknowledged that the district had approached Eldred about a merger so that the varsity program could remain at Sullivan West, but Eldred denied the request.

Franskevicz characterized the proposed merger with Roscoe/Livingston Manor as “a win-win for both schools” on the basis that it will “not only salvage two programs with insufficient numbers, but also create a situation for players from both communities to be successful.”

Under that scenario, Roscoe would be the host school.

Sullivan West High School Principal Mark Plescia said that the reason the situation remained unresolved at press time is that the last two meetings of the Section IX authorities were cancelled, therefore a vote on the merger has not taken place.