West Canaan — Mascoma High School’s girls soccer players might have a team of their own to compete on next year, after a group of parents and students lobbied school officials to move away from co-ed play.

The Mascoma Valley Regional School Board voted, 5-1, late last month to recommend earmarking $15,000 in next year’s budget for the creation of a pilot junior varsity girls soccer team.

Much of that money would go into start-up equipment costs, and the team would need about $8,000 annually to operate, according to an estimate from school officials.

Board members Cookie Hebert, Timothy Josephson, Wayne Morrison, Danielle Thompson and Kathleen Stacy voted to create the team.

Brewster Gove was the lone board member opposed to creating a girls team.

“We want to be able to provide things that interest kids, things that will captivate them and draw them in,” Josephson, the board’s vice chairman, said on Sunday.

The push to form a girls team largely came from middle school parents who saw their children succeeding in larger numbers in lower grade levels, he said.

Currently, girls and boys play alongside each other on the Royals’ varsity and junior varsity teams against other boys teams in the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association.

However, parents and players told the School Board last month that having a separate team would develop a sense of camaraderie among the high school girls and provide a better competitive experience, according to meeting minutes.

Parents pointed out that there’s nearly an equal number of middle-school girls playing soccer and field hockey, yet the only girls team available in high school is field hockey.

The question of whether a girls team could attract enough players to be sustainable was debated at the October board meetings.

School officials estimate between 14 and 15 girls would be needed to sustain a team, and interest couldn’t truly be gauged until tryouts were held in the fall.

Gove pointed out that when high school teams disband, it’s often because there isn’t enough interest from students, a team struggles against competitors or players get discouraged and lose morale, according to meeting minutes.

Gove, who has more than 30 years of umpiring experience, recommended the girls start as a club team before moving up to junior varsity. Or, he said, the board could invest in a less costly, co-ed sport, such as bass fishing or golfing.

Josephson said he also wants to be sure the team won’t fall apart.

Concerns about sustainability are partially why the School Board also voted last month to form a subcommittee tasked with researching and recommending co-curricular activities at the schools.

The group will be made up of Josephson, Stacy and Gove, as well as members of the community and students.

The district’s budget committee will also be responsible for determining whether funds for the pilot team ultimately make it into next year’s budget.

“I think the board is committed to moving forward with (a girls team) in some form or another,” Josephson said. “A lot of it is still up in the air and nothing has been determined yet.”

Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.

Correction

Mascoma Valley Regional School Board member Brewster Gove has more than 30 years of experience as a high school baseball umpire. An earlier version of this story misstated his connection to Upper Valley sports.