BUTTE - Some people in Butte are crying foul about the conditions Butte High’s girls softball team is forced to play in here at Stodden Park, while Butte High’s boys teams always seem to have homefield advantage.
“This is the condition of the backstops; it’s dangerous for the catchers,” said Sid DeBarathy as he held up part of the damaged backstop.
See the stark contrast between boys' and girls' sports facilities in Butte. Watch our video to learn about the grievances filed and the community's response
DeBarathy and George Foley recently filed a grievance before the Butte School District about conditions at the fields the girls softball team uses.
“And recognize that Stodden Park was not in very good shape, was not very playable, had a lot of problems with it safety-wise and playability-wise in the infield and the outfields,” said DeBarathy.
The pair filed a successful Title 9 grievance in 2012 that made improvements to the Stodden Fields, but more needs to be done. They noted that the school’s boys’ sports facilities have seen major upgrades in recent years.
“The baseball team’s in a brand-new, multi-million dollar facility. Somebody has got to stick up for the girls in this town,” said Foley.
The latest grievance was rejected by the School District at a recent School Board of Trustees meeting without explanation. An assistant softball coach said many other schools in the state have better fields.
“You take Belgrade, you take Polson, even the Class A schools, most the Double-As have their own fields, and they’re all quality fields, so, you know, we’re just falling behind a little bit and we need to catch up,” said Assistant Coach Steve Stosich.
They plan to appeal the rejected grievance on the grounds that girls' sports is being overlooked.
“It’s just a disparity, there’s been six facilities built for the boys in the last 60 years. The girls never had a facility built since 1896 when Butte High School first started,” said Foley.
Superintendent Judy Jonart told MTN News “the softball fields are adequate and well maintained by Butte-Silver Bow,” and “funds available to the District are barely adequate to meet our students’ educational needs — a new softball facility financed with education funds is simply not financially feasible.”
