Updated: 5:45 p.m., Aug 5, 2020
Days after canceling sports and extracurriculars due to COVID-19, Bay Village schools will resume activities Thursday, August 6, according to a statement from school officials.
The district had previously suspended sports last week after the county鈥檚 health board recommended canceling extracurriculars.
Parents and students pushed back on the decision and initially planned a protest rally Wednesday night. They still rallied even after the announcements that practices would resume.
鈥淲hile we are grateful, it鈥檚 important that the season continues as well,鈥� said Tracy Viets, a parent who attended the rally.
Other Cuyahoga County parents and students are pushing back as several school districts are canceling fall sports and extracurriculars due to fears of the spread of the coronavirus.
North Royalton parents and students held a rally Monday morning to protest the school district鈥檚 suspension of extracurricular activities, and in Brecksville, families from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday as the Brecksville-Broadview Heights Board of Education discussed whether to go forth with in-person schooling and extracurriculars.
North Royalton and Bay Village schools suspended sports last week after the Cuyahoga County Board of Health recommended canceling all extracurriculars due to COVID-19. But the guidance from the Cuyahoga health board is at odds with information that has been shared with schools and parents from the Ohio High School Athletic Association鈥檚 (OHSAA) and the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). Both OHSAA and ODH have both permitted athletes in fall sports to continue practicing while following safety guidelines, such as social distancing
Bay Village parent, Rachael Stafford, said students and parents are frustrated by the unclear guidance from state and local health officials.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just contradicting and confusing, and it鈥檚 a mixed message,鈥� said Stafford.
Stafford鈥檚 daughters, Callan and Anna, play volleyball at Bay High School in Bay Village. They had been already practicing this summer under the OHSAA guidelines, Stafford said.
Her kids were getting ready for tryouts when school officials announced the decision, she said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just been filtering a lot of different information from a lot of different sources, and a lot of pivoting and readjusting, and I think that from an emotional standpoint, it鈥檚 been really hard for the kids,鈥� she said.
Another Bay Village parent, Brendan Pickett, said the differing guidance is confusing, and safety advice should not be one-size-fits-all.
鈥淚f the state says it鈥檚 okay to play, [and] if the athletic association says it鈥檚 okay to play, and you have the county making a recommendation that you shouldn鈥檛 鈥� but yet you can look and say this doesn鈥檛 fit us, then we should be playing,鈥� Pickett said.
Pickett鈥檚 son Brock, a senior who plays soccer for Bay Village, is joining other students in protesting the school district鈥檚 decision this Wednesday.
鈥淭hese kids need those types of outlets,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 just about Friday night lights.鈥�
Melanie Kirin, who helped organize the Brecksville rally that will be held Monday night as the board is deciding whether to hold remote or in-person classes, said parents have expressed through surveys and feedback that they want an option of in-person instruction this fall.
鈥淲e know our kids. We know this district. We鈥檝e watched our case numbers, and we really feel that sending our kids back into the classroom is going to be a safe environment for them,鈥� she said.
The Brecksville district is near Medina and Summit counties, which are both classified at lower risk levels than Cuyahoga in the state鈥檚 public health advisory system, Kirin said.
The Cuyahoga County Board of Health鈥檚 recommendation 鈥渋sn鈥檛 all that representative of the population here in our district, so it鈥檚 kind of frustrating,鈥� she said.
Bay Village parents echoed this criticism. Bay Village competes in the OHSAA鈥檚 Great Lakes Conference, which also includes teams from Lorain and Medina counties.
Tracy Viets, whose kids play basketball and track for Bay Village, said it has been disheartening for students to see players from other schools in the conference moving forward with their practices.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e become a spectator to their peers that are in other areas,鈥� she said.
Viets plans to attend the Bay Village protest on Wednesday with her kids, which will be held at 4 p.m. in front of the Bay Village Board of Education building on Wolf Road.
Bay Village Superintendent Jodie Hausmann said in a written statement that the suspension of extracurriculars is just for the time being, and she has not yet made a final decision about whether to proceed with the fall sports.
