School Committee Members Stand Behind Tri-Valley League Vote

NORWOOD, MA — The majority of the Norwood School Committee is standing pat on their decision to allow the high school to apply to join the Tri-Valley League (TVL), despite pleas from some members to rescind the vote.

School officials will meet with TVL officials on Sept. 20, with an decision likely to come within two days. The meeting was scheduled despite pleas from school committee members Patrick McDonough and Michele Eysie Mullen to reverse their decision and allow the move to be a part of an overall study of the state of Norwood High School athletics.

The committee voted 3-2 in June to go ahead with the application. At the same meeting, Maura Smith proposed the formation of a committee to study athletics.

“We took the vote when it was filled with pro Tri-Valley people, we didn’t here a lot from the Bay State people until the last meeting. Living in the community and hearing the different viewpoints, what I heard was ‘you did not study this.’ I agree with that. We listened, we took a vote, then we hear the Bay State people and the people who want us to stay in the Bay State have as good of an argument as the Tri-Valley people,” Mullen said.

Bodenhofer and Smith both took offense to the idea that they did not do their homework.

“I spent hours studying this. I listened to people on both sides. I had listened to most of the people who came at our last meeting. I heard their argument, and they do make good arguments,” Bodenhofer said. "We get these tough decisions where people are passionate on both sides and we have to make a decision.”

Smith said her idea for the committee was not related to the decision to apply to the TVL.

“I don’t like being told I assumed anything. I will be honest with you, I heard both sides loud and clear. As the committee member who proposed this subcommittee, this was a separate issue. I’m hearing from coaches and parents there are other issues so let's examine what those issues are,” Smith said.

With Dedham’s departure, Norwood is now the smallest school in the Bay State Conference, sometimes competing against schools twice its size. The move have been supurred by the opportunity to play against schools of similar size and a recent history of losing records against other Bay State Conference teams.

“You can be a small school and competitive in some sports. Usually you are more competitive overall if you are competing against school of similar size,” Norwood Superintendent Dave Thomson said. “What I’m told by people at the MIAA is they align by enrollment. You might have a hockey team that blows the door off a division 1 team even though they are division 3.”

McDonough called the decision to not take a new vote disappointing, asking the committee if they talked to any student-athletes outside their families.

“They said ‘why are you doing this? It’s not making sense. We want to work harder, we want to work with the middle schools kid.’ They were begging me to do the middle school feeder program,” McDonough said.

If the TVL extends an invite to Norwood, the transition could take up to two years, according to Thomson.

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