By Cindy Schroeder
The Cincinnati Enquirer

It all started because of some locked restrooms and a 2-mile trip to play ball.

Three years ago, members of the Boone County High School girls softball team began asking why their field was behind Collins Elementary School. Players had to find their own transportation to and from practices and games.

The facility had no dugouts, no restrooms and no locker rooms, unlike the boys baseball field on school grounds that also featured bleachers and an irrigation system.

Amber Janneck, a senior softball player at Boone County High, is pleased with the improvements. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

Frustrated by what they perceived as inaction by school officials, a group of parents filed a lawsuit that would spur landmark improvements for high school girl athletes in all 120 Kentucky counties.

Although Congress had passed Title IX legislation in 1972, requiring schools to provide comparable sports opportunities for males and females, most attention had been focused on colleges.

The Kentucky suit changed that.

As a direct result of the suit's settlement, Boone County High School built a $500,000 soccer complex and softball field on a four-acre site purchased from an adjacent business owner.

School officials also changed the formula for distribution of money from booster clubs and gate receipts, and the district increased its training and publicity of an existing grievance procedure for Title IX complaints.

"The lawsuit was never about taking anything away from the boys,'' says Pat Egan, father of former Boone County High School softball player Chrissi. "It was about bringing the girls up to the boys' level in everything from facilities to opportunities.''

Today, 30 years after Title IX was passed, Kentucky is an acknowledged trailblazer for high school girl athletes.

"This case is a landmark decision with regard to Title IX at the high school level,'' said Gregory Ward Butrum, a Louisville lawyer involved in the Boone County case. "While there is quite a developed line of cases dealing with college sports, there are very few dealing with high school sports.''

Yet issues remain.

Recent audits of 175 schools by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association found widespread noncompliance with Title IX.

Deficiencies were noted in substandard softball fields and cheerleaders who cheered only for the boys' teams.

In some county schools, girls had smaller locker rooms than boys. Coaches of some girls teams are paid lower salaries.

In Northern Kentucky, Title IX audits have been performed at eight high schools. No significant deficiencies were found at Ludlow, Holmes and Scott high schools.

However, the state athletic association advised Beechwood High School, Campbell County High School, Highlands High School, Walton-Verona High School and Newport High School to take corrective actions in various areas to ensure Title IX compliance.

In most cases, school officials say, they have corrected the problems or are in the process of doing so.

At Highlands High School in Fort Thomas, for instance, fencing and stands have been installed at the girls' softball field, Athletic Director Dale Mueller says.

Highlands also plans to schedule boys and girls varsity basketball games back-to-back on the same night in future seasons to ensure that each is showcased in prime time.

"We've always believed that girls should get the same opportunities as boys get in sports, but it doesn't necessarily get put into action until you have the Title IX audits and someone from the outside saying, `This is what we think you should do.' It's been very helpful to have this outside group look at us,'' Mr. Mueller says.

In yet another change, the Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference, which represents 25 schools in Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties, is flip-flopping boys and girls basketball schedules in January and February to allow both sexes to play in prime time. In January, the girls will play on Tuesdays and Fridays, and the boys will play on Mondays and Thursdays. In February, those schedules will be reversed.

"We've been talking about doing this for a couple of years,'' says Tom Spritzky, president of the Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference. "We just felt as athletic directors that we needed to be proactive and show some equality to both programs.''

Boone County Schools Superintendent Bryan Blavatt says his district was addressing Title IX issues even before the lawsuit was filed over the girls softball facilities.

"I think we all agreed that that was not the best of all situations for the (girls softball) team to travel back and forth,'' Mr. Blavatt says. However, even before the lawsuit was filed, Mr. Blavatt said Boone County Schools paid its coaches for boys and girls sports the same and gave all coaches the same training.

The district also had a grievance procedure for Title IX complaints in place before the lawsuit, but it has since stepped up publicity about that process.

Boone County High School senior Amber Janneck, a shortstop with the girls softball team, recently became the first women's softball player in Northern Kentucky to land a Division I scholarship. The 17-year-old signed her letter of intent with the University of Kentucky Nov. 13, and she will have 80 percent of her UK costs covered, thanks to an athletic scholarship.

"Now the girls who play softball for Boone County are going to have a field to play on,'' Amber says. "They don't have to worry about getting rides to Collins (Elementary) or worrying about whether there are enough drivers to take the whole team to practice. We can just walk right down to a field that has everything. It's a great improvement.''

E-mail cschroeder@enquirer.com