Los Lunas Schools can’t play fall sports
Reason: Board votes no on hybrid model
The decision came as a gut punch, which is putting it gently.
When Los Lunas Schools’ board of education voted Tuesday night 4-1 in favor of keeping the district in remote learning for at least the next few weeks, the fall sports athletes at its two high schools, Los Lunas and Valencia, were dealt a devastating blow.
The vote’s fallout: football, soccer, volleyball and cross country athletes at those schools are not going to have a spring season, barring some dramatic pivot in language or direction from the state’s Public Education Department or the governor’s office.
“Everyone is really devastated and angry, sad,” said Los Lunas senior football player Tyler Kiehne, his school’s highest-profile athlete.
“I feel very hurt. It’s the most awful feeling to be told we’re not gonna have a season,” said Valencia junior volleyball player Miranda Garcia. “They’re my family. … It destroys me, completely.”
The fall sports were postponed from their usual calendar dates by the public health restrictions in the state related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The PED made it clear last month that any schools wishing to return to participation in New Mexico
Activities Association-related sports or activities must first be in a hybrid learning model.
Scott Elder, the Superintendent of Albuquerque Public Schools, on Wednesday evening implored the PED to rethink its position as APS’ board met to discuss its own re-entry plans.
A return to athletics, Elder said, “should not be linked solely to whether they are in school or not.”
In Los Lunas, the village on Wednesday was still grappling with Tuesday night’s unexpected development, especially those with a vested interest in prep sports. Many were trying to absorb the gravity of their new reality. “It’s not right,” Garcia said. “It’s unfair.” Coaches were equally distressed. “It’s really disheartening,” said Los
Lunas football coach Jeremy Maupin. “(The vote’s outcome) was definitely surprising.”
Football, volleyball and cross country are scheduled to begin practices on Feb. 22 around the state — assuming schools are already in a hybrid learning model, and only if a return to in-person learning as of next week does not lead to a significant spike in COVID-19 cases. The PED and Department of Health are going to jointly monitor that as students get back into the classroom.
The Los Lunas board said it would revisit the topic again the week of March 22, following spring break.
That is the day the high school basketball season is supposed to begin.
“We just have to hope,” Los Lunas girls basketball coach Marty Zeller said. His team has won three consecutive state championships. “We have to hope the governor may change that you don’t have to be in the hybrid or at school.”
Sources told the Journal on Wednesday that at least some athletes at Los Lunas and Valencia already are exploring the possibility of transferring to schools that are playing sports.
A rally has been arranged in Los Lunas from 9 a.m.-noon on Friday in an effort to get the board to reconsider — and reverse — its position. Moreover, coaches from both schools sent letters to the Los Lunas board members, voicing their opposition to Tuesday’s decision.
“… So many of our guys don’t know what to do because they were counting on this season to show what they’ve got,” said Kiehne, who signed in December to play at UCLA. “Our state is already overlooked, and this is just them completely turning their backs on the kids and on not even giving them a chance. It’s so sad honestly.”