Do girls get a fair shake at Hylton?

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.