Mountain View Preparatory School Sues Multiple Spartanburg County School Districts

Spartanburg, SC –

Mountain View Preparatory School has filed a lawsuit against the Foothills Athletic Conference and Spartanburg School Districts 1 through 4. The private school claims it has been unfairly barred from participating in a local middle school athletic conference, causing several students to withdraw their enrolment.

Details of the Dispute

Located within Spartanburg County, Mountain View Preparatory is a public charter school. Principal Matt Talley shared his disappointment over the decision to exclude the school from the Foothills Athletic Conference: “We are a public charter school – by law, our students have the same protections that other public school students do. Within the membership of the Foothills Conference, there is already a public charter school and a private school – we are no different.”

Mountain View Preparatory’s request to enter the conference was unanimously denied and the school’s appeal attempt was not accepted.

Impact on Students and School

The lawsuit comes after Mountain View found its families forced to choose between a good academic fit with limited sports opportunities, and a school offering robust athletics but not suiting their overall needs. “The denial is frustrating families, causing them to grapple with difficult decisions,” noted officials from the Mountain View Preparatory School.

Head football coach and athletic director of Mountain View Preparatory, Grey Ramsey, also emphasized the educators’ genuine interest in helping students. Ramsey said being unable to provide students a chance to play sports was the last thing he wanted when he took the job.

As a consequence of the rejection, dozens of students have left the school, with an estimated financial loss of over $600,000 expected over the next six years.

The Perception Problem

Additionally, Mountain View Preparatory argues that the exact nature and mission of the school are misunderstood, particularly its emphasis on sports-focused curriculums. The school points out that it forms part of South Carolina’s network of public charter schools, whose charter is based on their academic offerings rather than sporting ones.

An Appeal to the School Districts and Athletic Conference

Mountain View Prep is urging the school districts and the Foothills Athletic Conference to reconsider their decision. Without access to the conference, they argue that middle school students will suffer and lose vital sports education opportunities, which is a core part of their curriculum.

“Too much of the focus gets put on a scoreboard or result of a scoreboard when our ultimate calling for why we’re doing is to try to help these young people grow and become better people academically, socially, emotionally, and then, when they leave our walls and they go into the adult world, they are prepared and able to handle those things,” Ramsey emphasized.

As the legal proceedings advance, the school remains dedicated to providing the best possible opportunities for its students, both academically and athletically. So far, there has been no official response from the Spartanburg school districts or the Foothills Athletic Conference to the lawsuit.