DES MOINES, Iowa -- The Des Moines Public School District's high school sports teams are leaving the Central Iowa Metropolitan League for a new conference.
District leaders say the move makes Des Moines more competitive with high schools of a similar size.
"Des Moines and other districts have school facilities that may by 50, 60, or more years old. The quality of the facilities is an issue that always a concern--a financial concern," says DMPS Spokesperson Phil Roeder.
Des Moines Superintendent Tom Ahart says DMPS is joining five other school districts in leaving the CIML.
The new conference will be the five Des Moines high schools, plus Ames, Fort Dodge, Ottumwa, Marshalltown and Mason City.
“This is a change I am confident will benefit our students, our teams, our schools, and our community. A more competitive high school athletic conference will mean more opportunities for success and, as a result, will lead to greater student participation in sports and engagement with their schools” says Ahart
The current CIML has 19 members, and district's Phil Roeder says the besides being more competitive, there are other advantages to joining a new, smaller, conference.
"Administratively is just going to be a little more nimble. It'll be easier to make decisions and address scheduling issues as we're going through now with COVID-19--we can more easily address that and decide how to respond to that and other challenges that might pop up," he says.
The as-yet unnamed new conference will start play in the 2022-23 school year.