sports In November 2010, the center filed complaints regarding 12 school districts, including ours, in a campaign aimed at highlighting the disparity in opportunities for girls. While half of all high school students in America are girls, only 41 percent of high school athletics provide options for girls, according to the center. That adds up to 1.3 million girls nationwide who don’t have a sports option for extracurricular activities
— which can in turn curb college scholarship opportunities. Like the other schools, the Clark County School District was called out for a gap between athletic opportunities for girls and boys. Under the law, there can’t be a difference greater than five percent between athletic opportunities offered for boys and for girls. In 2010, the district’s gap was more than 10 percent, or roughly 4,000 girls in the district who had no opportunity to play sports at their schools. “There was quite a bit of difference between the (opportunities for) girls and boys,” says Ray Mathis, executive director of student activities for the school district. “We have been proactive in addressing those concerns.” And compliance is no laughing matter. Failing to comply with Title IX can result in a loss of federal funding for school districts, from buses to lunch programs, says Mathis, who adds that the Left: Spartans celebrate after a play; below: Spartan Brandi Barnson is on the tail of a rival.
28 | Desert
Companion | March 2013