PIAA rejects Farrell’s request to join WPIAL

By: Chris Harlan
Wednesday, January 24, 2024 | 9:04 PM

Purchase Photo Options

A week after the WPIAL rejected Farrell’s attempt to join the district, the PIAA also denied the Mercer County school’s request to transfer to the WPIAL.

Citing racial issues with schools in District 10, Farrell administrators wanted to rejoin the WPIAL, a district the school used to call home. But the WPIAL board last week cited travel concerns and transportation costs for its decision to deny Farrell reentry, reasons the PIAA also accepted Wednesday a hearing with Farrell administrators.

“That had merit with the board,” PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said of the WPIAL’s concerns. “But the board was also sensitive to the situations that were brought forward by Farrell and wants the (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging) committee of the board to address possible process and professional development for all district committees to take a look at.”

Farrell superintendent Lora Adams-King described District 10 as a “very hostile and unsafe environment” because of “racial mistreatment” by other schools.

Adams-King said Farrell sent the PIAA photographs from some previously reported incidents, including one where a student section wore bonnets “as mockery to what some African-American women wear on their heads.” She also played a social media recording that included the repeated use of a racial slur.

“I hope you don’t see this as a minority school playing the race card because it’s so much more than that,” Adams-King told the PIAA board.

She added that Farrell never expected District 10 to “eradicate racism,” but wanted to see sanctions of some type against offending schools. Farrell has been a member of District 10 since leaving the WPIAL in 2006.

“The board felt that some of the issues wouldn’t go away whether they moved districts, but it was important to hear what they had to say,” Lombardi said.

The DEIB committee was created more than 20 years ago as the Gender & Minority Equity Committee. Lombardi said the group, which was renamed last summer, could prove helpful in race-related allegations such as those Farrell presented, which often are difficult for districts to resolve.

“That’s why the board said let’s get the DEIB committee to look at a global process,” he said, giving schools a path to receive assistance from the PIAA.

The WPIAL formed an Equity Council for Diversity and Inclusion in 2020. District 1 in suburban Philadelphia also has a similar committee. Lombardi said the DEIB process could help schools in districts without such a resource.

Lombardi said he was hopeful the committee would create a process where “schools can get assistance or bring forward something they feel is not right.”

As for Farrell’s future in District 10, Lombardi was optimistic the relationship there would improve.

“I think District 10 schools for the most part welcome them,” he said. “There have been some isolated incidents, but school administrators in many cases are working very hard to eliminate this.”

Two decisions delayed

The PIAA board chose not to act on recommendations made by the volleyball and soccer committees that would have provided big changes to those sports, instead referring them to the strategic planning committee.

One would have eliminated overtime from regular-season soccer games. The other would have expanded volleyball to six classifications. Members of the board said the ideas needed more discussion.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.