Do girls get a fair shake at Hylton?
John Boal/News & Messenger
Hylton High School’s baseball (top) and softball fields have different amenities. The baseball field has a press box and concessions; the softball field recently got a portable toilet.
The Office for Civil Rights is conducting a Title IX investigation into Prince William County Public Schools and could be finished with it by September.
“OCR is currently investigating whether PWCPS discriminated against female athletes on the basis of sex by failing to provide male and female athletes equivalent locker rooms, practice and competitive facilities, as required by Title IX and its implementing regulation,” stated OCR spokesman David Thomas in an e-mail to the News & Messenger on Wednesday.
The impetus for the investigation revolves around what one local parent believed to be inadequate facilities for the Hylton girls softball team, as compared with other playing fields for the school’s boys’ sports.
Until recently, the Hylton baseball field had the following that softball didn’t: concession stand, announcer’s booth/sound system, bathroom facility, in-ground irrigation and batting cages. Recently, Adam Ziegler and other parents of Hylton softball players were able to get the school to place a portable toilet next to one of the softball dugouts. They also worked out a deal with an area travel team to share a small netted batting cage behind the outfield wall, said Ziegler.
In his complaints about the softball field, Ziegler informed the school administration that a game was delayed this spring so that an umpire could “relieve himself” in the woods behind both the softball field and the lacrosse practice field, which was being used at the time.
Ziegler said he met with county and school officials, including principal Carolyn Custard and county physical and health education curriculum supervisor Fred Milbert, in early December but was not satisfied with their response to his concerns through a process called Early Conflict Resolution. Eventually he took his case to the OCR in hopes that at least all the county schools will have comparable facilities a few years down the road.
“At the end of the day, I want the county and school to identify all the Title IX issues at Hylton, and then create a plan and associated budget to fix the issues,” Ziegler said in an e-mail this spring to the News & Messenger. “To date, I have heard excuses and deflection of responsibility — these are paid county officials, and I suggest the school board and taxpayers hold them accountable for their inaction.”
According to school system spokeswoman Irene Cromer, inquiries by the News & Messenger on the investigation will be addressed next week. Efforts to reach several Hylton administrators this week were unsuccessful.
Title IX was first instituted in 1972 to ban gender discrimination in the classroom and on the playing field. Those that have failed to comply with Title IX regulations in a timely fashion have lost federal funding. Hylton opened in 1991.
In an e-mail to Ziegler from Milbert dated Dec. 21, 2008, Milbert states that the majority of the funding for Hylton’s baseball field came from outside resources and that suggested improvements to the softball field would likely have to come from both county and private funds.
“With the budget forecast and the latest news about budget, you must understand that this project will not get complete[d] by school funds or support only,” Milbert states in the letter.
Potomac High School activities director Bill Stearns said he was only vaguely aware of the investigation, having spent much of the latter part of the year on medical leave. However, Stearns said he does his best to analyze any issues with his school’s athletic facilities and address them before each school year.
Stearns said that Potomac, which opened in 1979, recently changed the playing surface on its softball field from a gravely type substance to a standard dirt infield. He also said that the county paid for the installation of lights on the field but was not sure of exactly what year they were put in or how much they cost.
Currently, the softball teams have to walk a short distance to the back entrance of the school to use restroom facilities, while the baseball team uses the restrooms behind the football stadium.
“I try to look at the end of the year and see what we got problems with and see what we can do about it,” Stearns said. “Sometimes we can [do something], sometimes we can’t.”
Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-878-8062.
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Reader Reactions
But the point seems to be that the booster organizations of the various sports are the ones who have provided the upgraded facilities. And if you want to expand the discussion, marching band groups have routinely been given short shrift from the schools. When my kids were in Marching Band they were not permitted to miss a day of school to attend an out of area band function, but the wrestling team was able to miss school every year for regional competition in Roanoke. And you didn’t find administrators attending band functions either. So get over it, life is not fair. Maybe that is lesson the girls need to learn. If you want something, go work for it yourself and don’t expect it handed to you. You’ll be better off throughout your life - it builds character, not a sense of entitlement that is so widespread these days.
WOW!!! We have a board full of experts! I will make sure I sign right up to sell Hot Dogs and Soda’s in order to raise the money required to restore my High School’s softball field. I’m guessing it will take about 20 years to bring it up to the same standards as the boys. I can’t speak for Hylton, but I know High Schools do fundraise for Softball. Many of the High Schools pay for their spring tournament travel expenses through fundraising efforts.
Hey Patsy! This has nothing to do with someone being excluded from participation. I encourage you to go walk the grounds of both the Baseball and Softball fields in this area, than let me know if you think the fields are comparable? You appear to have so much knowledge on what the parents have contributed to the Baseball programs in this area; I would love to see side by side spend plans of what has been expended on baseball and softball over the years.
I applaud you Adam Ziegler for brining this matter to the surface. Everyone knows that Female Sports take a back seat to Male programs. Just take a look around at your next Home Game and see if the AD, Principal or any other school administrators are in attendance? I would guess not! Wait until this fall and do the same count during football season. Let me know what you come up with.
Mr. Ziegler made this an issue, not his daughter and his daughter shouldn’t be brought into it. It would be a shame to see a young girl be bullied for her father’s actions. Secondly, Hylton’s girl’s softball parents and students really need to do the fundraising to better their program. It’s called community service and it builds character and communities. The taxpayers can’t continue to pick up the tab for everyone and the school budget has been cut. This is what booster organizations are for. These kids deserve better than a civil rights complaint. The parents of the team need to make a better choice and rally the community for support and funds. After all, it keeps their children off the streets and will possibly help lead to a college scholarship later on. But please folks, leave the softball kids out of this nonsense. They can’t control their parents’ actions or lack of!
This is a countywide problem. The high schools have football offices and men’s not women’s basketball offices. In one “football office” I saw video games and very large flat screen to play them on. Many of the football coaches are given reduced schedules and are give the title of “Assistant AD” In other words they get paid 80k to mow the lawn An assistant football coach gets more money then any head coach of any other sport. It is about time someone did something. They should check out all the schools.
“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.“
I fail to see where Ziegler’s daughter has been denied participation or benefit of. Is the claim that she was discriminated against because of bathroom access or not having a concession stand? This is assinine.
If a girl is good enough, she can make the baseball team. In addition, there is a softball team, by the way boys can’t play on it. There are boys and girls cross country, indoor track, outdoor track, lacrosse, tennis, soccer, swimming, and basketball. They have field hockey and volleyball teams that boys can’t play on.
Over an eighteen year period the Hylton baseball teams facilities have been upgraded mostly through the efforts of fund raising and booster efforts. I am not aware of any federal funding. Adam Ziegler, why don’t you get off your butt, organize the softball parents and raise funds for facilities like other sport teams or non-sports teams.
By the way, if you haven’t bought your fireworks, get them at the Choral Booster site by the Pizza Hut on Dale Blvd.
The baseball field only has a portable toilet also. The football field has bathroom facilities which baseball or softball can use if its open. I believe the field house and much of the facilities that are in the baseball field have been donated and did not come out of tax payer money. The baseball team has worked for years doing fundraisers and put in a lot of man (people) hours into the program. I would recommend the softball team to look for outside sources also to help update their facilities.
These school athletic programs are a nuisance and headache. They operate for a select few. Time to cancel them - get back to books.
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