By: Nate Calvin
Two of the dominoes that were speculated to fall this summer regarding the future of the NWOAL will not for the time being.
At the June 21st meeting of the Evergreen Board of Education, Superintendent Eric Smola told the board that Evergreen will remain in the NWOAL at this time.
“Nothing has changed”, Smola stated. “No one has a made a move, Swanton is still looking to leave. The goal for Evergreen was not to initiate any move but be ready to respond.”
Board member Matt Vaculik asked Smola if the league was aware of Evergreen staying in the league at this time and Smola acknowledged they were.
“We are continuing to explore possible options for the future, but nothing is written in stone and we have not moved beyond the discussion phase”, commented Swanton Superintendent Chris Lake when contacted.
“As of right now we are and will continue to be a member of the NWOAL.”
In the months following Swanton and Evergreen laying the foundation for possibly leaving the NWOAL, the school boards of fellow league members Archbold, Bryan, Liberty Center, Patrick Henry, and Wauseon all passed resolutions reaffirming their commitment to the league.
The period of uncertainty began in February when the Swanton administration presented a plan to their board detailing the reasons and a plan to leave the NWOAL.
At that time, Swanton informed board members that there had been discussions with Delta, Evergreen, Ottawa Hills, Northwood, Montpelier, and Edon (football only) about creating a new league.
Evergreen then followed Swanton in March by presenting their proposal to vacate the NWOAL and form a new league also mentioning discussions with other schools and citing Evergreen’s lack of athletic success as one of the reasons for looking to make a change.
Evergreen also held a community forum and sent out a district wide survey to gauge the interest of leaving the league.
So as of now, Ohio’s oldest athletic league will remain in its current format.
Nate can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com