Hike! SAD 3 OKs football

Morning Sentinel, February 13, 2007

(excerpt) The Mount View High School football team will play a varsity schedule next year for the first time in the school's history.

The School Administrative District 3 Board of Directors on Monday voted by a 7-2 margin in favor of making football a varsity sport for the 2007 season. The vote also approved football at the junior high school.

Russell Lord and Sheldon McCormick opposed the decision while vice-chairwoman Andrea Stark abstained from the vote.

The Maine Principals Association last month approved the district's application to join the Eastern Maine Class C varsity schedule.

"I'm just very excited," said Ron Simmons, the head football coach. "I'm excited about the board's decision. I think it was the right decision for the district."

The board now must grapple with how much money to give to the fledgling program. High school principal Lynda Letteney, who helped guide the program through the club sport season completed last fall, asked the board for $33,730, $23,830 of which would go toward the varsity program and another $9,900 for the junior high team.