- Dale Duff Reporting ([email protected])
The Maine Principals’ Association (MPA) and state government officials met Wednesday afternoon in Augusta. The end result is a one week delay to the start of the high school fall sports season while guidelines can be worked out that meet state requirements.
After the meeting the MPA released this statement…
“The Maine Principals’ Association agrees with the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Education that it would be best to extend the delay of fall sports by one additional week to allow schools to get their academic programs underway as we further adjust our guidance,” said Mike Burnham, Executive Director of the Maine Principals’ Association. “In the coming days, we will work closely and collaboratively with the Administration to modify our guidance and arrive at a solution that will honor the State’s safety protocols and protect the health and safety of student athletes along with their communities. We are grateful to the departments for their response to our request for feedback and look forward to working with them so that students may be able to play sports as quickly and as safely as possible.”
Governor Janet Mills issued this statement…
“I am a firm believer in the value of school sports which support the physical, social, and mental health of young people,” said Governor Janet Mills. “I want to see fall sports come back this year in a way that protects the health of students on the field, in the locker room and in the classroom, while safeguarding members of the larger community. I am asking my Commissioners to work as a team with the MPA, the Maine School Boards Association and the Maine School Superintendents Association to address concerns about the guidance as quickly as possible with the most important goal in mind: protecting the health and safety of Maine students, their extended families, their teachers and fellow students and all members of our broader Maine community.”
The Health and Human Services Commissioner, the Education Commissioner and the executive directors of the Maine Superintendents Association and Maine School Boards Association also issued statements saying they want to work with the MPA on a way to conduct fall sports within safety guidelines.
The MPA says the Phase 4 workout plan is extended an extra week and the new date for fall sports practices would be September 14th.