LEIGH, Neb. - Two Northeast Nebraska schools that have joined together for activities for years are now headed in separate directions.

With the stands packed at the Leigh High School gym, the school board heard from a majority of community members that supported the co-op with Clarkson.

“Three years ago we were state champions, and now we want to do this?”

“A small group of guys are deciding for a bunch of kids and I’d hate to see the kids get hurt.” 

A special meeting starting at 7 p.m. went for more than two and a half hours. At the conclusion, the choice was unanimous, 9 to 0 to end the co-op.

The board members quickly left after making their decision, one that left many stunned.

"Look what you guys did to these kids they are falling, they are so upset," an attendee shouted as the board left.

But before voting to dissolve, the board members said their reasoning came from conversations with Leigh students.

“What are your thoughts if we broke the co-op and went on our own? You should have seen the glow in their eyes," principal and activities director Andrew Faltys said. "They were excited.”

“We have girls in our school that truly want to be a part of a team, knowing that they do not have the athletic ability to be that varsity starter," board member Debbie Brabec said. "All they want to do is be part of a family, and because of the poor culture and the treatment that they received, the lack of a built relationship, they walked away. To see that happen in a young girl’s eyes, in my opinion, is heartbreaking.”

The Clarkson Community Schools School Board voted 6 to 0 last week to keep the co-op, but now it's looking like the Red Devils might be making a reappearance.

But players on the Patriots volleyball team that is currently in a playoff run are already thinking about how they might have to play against current teammates in the future.

“One thing for me, I don’t know how I’m going to look through the net on the volleyball court playing with the girls we played with since we were nine years old," Claire Holoubek said. "We’ve been playing with them for our whole lives and I don’t know how I’m going to play against them.”

The Leigh board of education says the physical change of colors and logos won’t be immediate and will take time. But both Schools starting next school year will be playing against each other for the first time in over a decade.