Pending approval by its Board of Education, Farmington will become a member of the South Suburban Conference effective the start of the 2014-15 school year.
At a meeting of the South Suburban's member schools earlier this week, Farmington's application to join the mostly Dakota County school conference was approved by a unanimous 10-0 vote.
Current South Suburban member schools include Apple Valley, Rosemount, Eagan, Eastview, Lakeville North, Lake South, Burnsville, Prior Lake, Bloomington Jefferson and Bloomington Kennedy.
“We
are excited to welcome Farmington into the SSC and look forward to the
contributions they will bring to the conference in the areas of activities and
athletics,” South Suburban Conference Executive Committee Chairperson,
Dave Helke, principal at Burnsville High School, said.
Farmington became a charter member of the Missota Conference in 1960 and remained there until the 1983-84 school year when it moved to the Tri-Metro Conference.
It returned to the Missota in 1997-98 where it currently competes with seven other league schools: Chaska, Chanhassen, Holy Angels, Northfield, New Prague, Red Wing and Shakopee.
Farmington made formal application to the South Suburban last fall. Included in the application were the primary reasons for the request:
"...The Farmington School
District is committed to providing our students with a range of opportunities
and competition with schools of competitive size. It is our belief that the South Suburban
Conference would provide these opportunities and competition...."
Farmington's current Minnesota State High School League enrollment is 1565 and is expected to grow considerably in upcoming years..
Current South Suburban High School League enrollments (highest to lowest include): Burnsville 2530, Prior Lake 2154, Eagan 2147, Eastview 2056, Rosemount 2013, Lakeville South 1774, Lakeville North 1711, Apple Valley 1638, Bloomington Jefferson 1543 and Bloomington Kennedy 1275.
One of the attractive aspects of the proposed conference change is the reduction in travel distance between member schools. The average travel distance for Farmington in the current Missota Conference is 27.86 miles; the average in the South Suburban would be 12.86 miles.
Formal discussion of the proposed conference change will take place at one of the scheduled January school board meetings, either Jan. 14 or Jan. 28.
