The Perry School Board this week voted unanimously to accept Woodward-Granger as the 10th and newest member of the Heart of Iowa Conference.
“Woodward is just a great fit,” PHS Principal Brad Snowgren told the board in recommending Woodward-Granger’s admission. “They’re growing in size. That’s why they wanted to enter our conference. This helps the conference because now we’ll be a 10-team conference, which is easier for scheduling.”
PCSD Superintendent Clark Wicks said he also favored approval.
“The high school principals have discussed Woodward-Granger possibly coming into the Heart of Iowa Conference, and the ADs have also discussed this,” Wicks said. “From what our AD and high school principal have said, they’re all in favor of this move.”
Woodward-Granger is already on Perry’s non-conference schedules for many activities, and it is the physically closest school to Perry. Wicks noted that average travel distance within the Heart of Iowa Conference is about 38 miles, and the admission of Woodward-Granger would not appreciably increase the average.
“All in all, after talking with all the ADs and principals, it’s just a great fit,” Snowgren said. “It’s the right thing. Everybody’s on board.”
The Woodward-Granger Community School District Board of Directors voted unanimously last month to leave the West Central Conference and apply for admission to join the Heart of Iowa Conference.
Woodward-Granger Superintendent Brad Lane said the W-G district’s projections for enrollment growth helped lead to the current effort to change conferences.
“We’re looking for the best fit as we continue to grow in the Heart of Iowa Conference,” Lane said. “Current and projected enrollments, central Iowa proximity and aligned academic, athletic and fine arts visions and values are the primary drivers of our interest in joining the conference.”
At Monday’s meeting, Perry School Board Vice President Travis Landgrebe moved that the board accept Woodward-Granger’s application for conference admission “unless somebody can tell me some cons or what harm or why we wouldn’t want to,” he said.
Director Joe Tuhn seconded the motion, and the board voted unanimously to approve it.
Sixty percent of the conference’s members will need to approve Woodward-Granger’s application before the Iowa High School Athletic Association allows the conference expansion. If their application is successful, the W-G Hawks would join the following nine school districts in the Heart of Iowa Conference:
- Grand View Christian in Des Moines
- Greene County
- Nevada
- Prairie City-Monroe in Monroe
- Perry
- Roland-Story in Story City
- Saydel
- South Hamilton in Jewell
- West Marshall in State Center
The Hawks would start competing in the Heart of Iowa in the 2026-2027 academic year.
