Pierce City invited to Mid-Lakes Conference
The Pierce City school district has been invited to join the Mid-Lakes Conference, a seven-school conference hoping to expand in the 2018-2019 school year.
In a letter dated Aug. 31, Kelly Lowe, superintendent of the Pleasant Hope school district, invited Pierce City to join the Mid-Lakes Conference (MLC), which consists of Marionville, Strafford, Fair Grove, Skyline, Ash Grove, Stockton and Pleasant Hope.
"The MLC has been exploring several various avenues in order to enhance the education process for our students and communities," Lowe said in the letter. "We feel as if the time has come to diversify the conference through expansion. Careful consideration was given to the school districts which we felt would strengthen our conference standing."
Lowe also sent letters to four other schools, including Forsyth, Hollister, El Dorado Springs and Warsaw.
Russ Moreland, superintendent of Pierce City schools, said although the district is not actively looking to leave the Spring River Valley Conference, it is honored to be invited to join the well-respected MLC.
"There has not been any official decision made, and we will be discussing the issue during the Sept. 23 board meeting," he said. "At this point, we are happy with our current conference affiliation, and I do not see the change as beneficial to our district, due in part to the geographical location and enrollment of the schools involved."
Members of the Spring River Valley Conference include: College Heights Christian, Diamond, Golden City, Greenfield, Jasper, Liberal, Lockwood, Miller, Sarcoxie and Pierce City.
Lowe said the letters were sent to gauge interest among area schools, and Pierce City was invited because of its location, as some schools to the north were invited, along with others to the south.
Lowe said the goal in inviting the schools is to have a larger conference and be able to cut down on travel.
"If we go to a bigger conference, like 12 teams, we could split it between north and south," he said. "School boards have been presented with travel and mileage information, and the major concern is if we have to take a two-hour trip, it's not good to do that on say a Tuesday.
"The design is to make a larger conference with similar schools and to cut down on travel. We'll have to see who is interested and then go from there."
The deadline for Pierce City to respond to the invitation is Oct. 9, and the final vote for acceptance of new members will be at the Mid-Lakes Conference meeting on Oct. 14 in Springfield.
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