By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
When the University Interscholastic League chose not to delay the start for extracurricular activities for Class 1A through 4A schools, the decision didn’t sit right with Point Isabel ISD superintendent Theresa Capistran.
With COVID-19 cases rising rapidly across the Rio Grande Valley, local county health officials issued orders delaying the start of in-person schooling and extracurricular activities until Sept. 7 at the earliest for East Valley districts. Capistran didn’t think it was fair for small schools to be denied the same delayed fall athletic calendar that 5A and 6A schools received.
So she and Port Isabel athletic director and football coach Tony Villarreal requested a meeting with the UIL. On July 23, Capistran and more than 20 other superintendents from South Texas schools had a Zoom meeting with Dr. Jamey Harrison, the deputy director for the UIL, equipped with COVID-19 data to ask for an updated calendar.
“We don’t know what it’s going to be like a month from now, but we know that right now it is not safe (to return),” Capistran said. “We conveyed that message to the UIL and asked them to please consider a couple of options, but at the very least keep us at the same schedule (as the big schools). Unfortunately, they did not hear us or grant us our request. I sent an email to UIL sharing my disappointment because, bottom line is, it’s not safe to bring our kids back together while the county is still telling us no more than 10 people congregating.”
La Feria, Lasara, Lyford and Santa Rosa were among the East Valley districts Capistran recalled as having a representative in the meeting. She reached out to colleagues when the meeting was set to see if they shared her views regarding the UIL decision, and she was met with a profound response.
“Superintendents would reach out to me asking if they could invite someone, and after the meeting, coaches and superintendents from even the San Antonio area asked me, ‘If there’s something else, if there’s another meeting, please include us.’ Everybody is concerned, everybody is feeling these same sentiments,” Capistran said.
With one week passed and no answer from the UIL, Capistran emailed Harrison to inform him of the growing number of superintendents telling her about their concerns. In the email, she said many felt like the smaller schools were being used “as guinea pigs to ‘see what happens’ before the 5-6A schools return in September,” which some East Valley coaches have expressed, too.
Harrison called the guinea pig claim “a baseless and uninformed accusation” and said the UIL would not be adjusting the 1A-4A fall athletic calendar, citing “input from a large number of schools from across the state” expressing their desire to start Aug. 3.
“Schools in other parts of the state have consistently stated that given the uncertainty of what conditions may be as we move later in the calendar, they do not want us to prohibit them from participation as they can. We will continue to work with schools in the impacted areas to develop solutions to help them,” Harrison’s email read.
Capistran and Villarreal did not give up their fight after the response. They met with U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, state Rep. Alex Dominguez and a spokesperson for state Rep. Eddie Lucio III via phone conference Aug. 3 to discuss the situation.
Following the meeting, Vela sent a letter to UIL executive director Dr. Charles Breithaupt, Gov. Greg Abbott and TEA commissioner Mike Morath on Aug. 4 backing Capistran and Villarreal’s concerns.
“A ‘normal’ fall semester is increasingly unlikely for students as we see the continued spread and increasing number of COVID-19 cases across the Rio Grande Valley and the entire state,” the letter read. “However, the recently released UIL calendar has 1A-4A fall sports beginning practice on August 3, a month prior to 5A and 6A schools … This blatant disregard for the safety of personnel at 1A-4A schools will not only likely result in increased COVID-19 cases in these already vulnerable communities, but also increase the chances of possible injuries among student athletes.
“1A-4A superintendents, coaches, and athletic directors across my district have voiced their concerns over the unfairness of having their student athletes begin competition a month before other UIL schools,” Vela continued in the letter. “I respectfully request that 1A-4A schools be afforded the same opportunity to prepare for competition as 5A-6A schools and allow for all divisions to operate under the same calendar.”
Capistran said she’s not sure if anything will come of the letter, but she’s “appreciative that Congressman Vela is supporting” the fight and would still like to see something done.
Harrison did not immediately respond to a request for comment via email Friday.