Dist. 94 says let's leave DuPage Valley Conference

The West Chicago Wildcats are on the loose -- almost.

After years of agonizing over the move, West Chicago Community High School District 94 has made official its desire to leave the prestigious DuPage Valley Conference.

In a resolution passed unanimously by the district board Tuesday, officials directed the school administration to investigate ways to join a smaller existing athletics conference in the area or to create a new conference. At the same time, though, the resolution is worded carefully to protect West Chicago's seat in the DVC.

The language specifically states that the district is not giving the two-year notice necessary to leave the conference.

"We should look at this on a long-term basis," board member Rich Nagel said. "It's got to unfold on its own and it will take some time to work through."

Officials hope a conference of smaller schools will level the playing field for Community High, which currently has the fewest number of students in the DVC. In the past, people have been against leaving the DVC because it would mean abandoning long-standing rivalries. But the board hopes giving Community High's teams a bigger chance at winning will boost school spirit.

West Chicago tried to make a break from the DVC in 2000, but the move failed in a split board vote. This time, the district researched the issue for a year before offering several options at the Oct. 16 meeting.

The board chose to draft the resolution approved Tuesday, giving the school the room necessary to explore its options before committing to a path. It mandates that Moses Cheng, who joined the school as principal this year, report back to the board on the school's options by June 3, 2008.

"We've been having some pretty aggressive discussions with various high schools" about creating a new conference, he said. "The process is pretty delicate."