MORTON, Ill. – The Morton School District is taking issue with a Peoria Journal Star article saying that a settlement has been reached between the feds and the district over a Title IX complaint.
The district says an agreement with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights “does not constitute an admission of liability, non-compliance, or wrongdoing by the District.”
A Journal Star headline suggests that there was a finding that boys and girls sports programs in District 709 are unequal.
The issue stems from a complaint made last year by a longtime area softball coach.
The district also claims that budgeted amounts for boys and girls sports in the story were inaccurate.
The Peoria Journal Star story is only available for the paper’s subscribers online, or for those who pay for a paper copy.
The full statement from Morton School District is below.
Regarding the March 21 Journal Star story, “Federal investigation finds boys and girls sports programs unequal at Morton District 709:”
While there was a Title IX complaint filed against District 709, there was no “finding” of inequity, as indicated in the Journal Star headline. To the contrary, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and Morton District 709 entered into a resolution agreement that “does not constitute an admission of liability, non-compliance, or wrongdoing by the District.”
The District did agree to provide training to administrators, to survey students regarding their athletic interests, and to provide assessments of facilities, equipment, supplies and funding for boys’ and girls’ sports to ensure equity. The District has been responsive to both the OCR and the complainant in this process.
Additional information in the article regarding Morton 709’s budgeted amounts for boys’ and girls’ teams also was inaccurate. For the 2020-21 season, Morton District 709 budgeted $73,730 for 393 male athletic participants and $44,755 for 301 female athletic participants.
What difference there is in total expenditures is due almost entirely to our football program, for which there is no female team equivalent. The football program has 118 participants and $29,150 in funding. When you subtract football from the athletics budget, District 709 budgeted $44,580 on boys’ sports compared to $44,755 on girls’ sports.
Morton District 709 is committed to providing equitable programs for boys and girls and will work cooperatively with the OCR to provide the information that is evidence of that equity.
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