NEW ALBANY, Ind. (AP) — Administrators at a southern Indiana school district planned to apologize Monday for costumes students at a predominantly white middle school wore to a basketball game, sparking allegations of racism.

Three New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corp. officials told members of the NAACP's New Albany branch that they intend to write a letter of apology to Parkview Middle School over the costumes worn by Highland Hill Middle School students.

A handful of Highland Hills students wore black masks — one with the face of a gorilla and another featuring President Barack Obama's likeness — to a Feb. 7 eighth-grade basketball game between the schools. Highland Hills students were encouraged to dress for the home game in all black — a so-called "blackout" — to show their school spirit. Students were asked to wear other colors at earlier games.