(New Buffalo, MI) - Whether to combine more sports programs in the New Buffalo and River Valley school districts will be discussed at community meetings next week.

New Buffalo Schools Superintendent Dr. Jeff Leslie said the focus of the discussions would be, "Is that something we want to pursue? There's pros and cons to both."

Leslie said combining more or all of the sports could make sense given the success of the high school football programs in both school districts merging last season. The current enrollment of 185 students at New Buffalo High School has held steady over the past couple of years following a decline, and it's challenging for some teams to have enough student participation given the number of sports offered for a small school. 

Leslie said the middle school eight-man football team in New Buffalo, for example, finished the season with just nine players due to injuries. However, the 7th-grade boy's basketball team with 17 players had more than enough.

"From a basketball standpoint, I think our numbers are really good. It's just with some of these other sports," Leslie said.

The meetings at New Buffalo and River Valley High Schools are scheduled for March 29 at 7 p.m.

"I think the next week to ten days are going to be kind of telling in terms of what direction all of that is going to go," Leslie said.