Complaint: school is not a rec center

Woman says half-days for state basketball disrupted much

 

Last updated 4/3/2019 at 9:37am



Is it right to disrupt school for hundreds of students because of a sport played by a small percentage of them?

That was a topic of discussion at the Grand Coulee Dam School District’s Board of Directors meeting March 25.

Cathy LaPlace addressed the board in the public-comment section of the meeting.

LaPlace is the wife of Director George LaPlace, and the two have students in the district.

Cathy LaPlace criticized the school’s last-minute decision to have two half-days of school in March because of the Raiders high school basketball team competing in the state tournament in Spokane.

“I want to say first that I think basketball is a valuable extracurricular activity, just like music, just like theater, tennis, golf, or anything else,” she said. “I know the kids who practice it benefit from it a lot.”

“Boys’ basketball represents about 4 percent of the student population, maybe a little bit less. So that’s about 30 students out of 700 students,” Cathy LaPlace said. “So that means there are about 670 students who have other interests.”


“I talked to teachers, parents, and students, and a lot of people were frustrated by this decision,” she continued. “Some teachers told me that they had a test that day, and they had to postpone that test, and it was difficult to reschedule it. Some teachers said that it disrupted their whole week of work. Some said they didn’t even know school was canceled, and their student told them it was canceled that day. They were frustrated by that.”

She also noted the inconvenience for parents who had to find last-minute childcare.


A fourth-grade field trip to see the Spokane Symphony had also been canceled, LaPlace said.

“It was the type of field trip you have to prepare a long time in advance because it’s an interactive show in which kids have to participate and do certain things,” she said, “so their teacher had been preparing them for several weeks.”

LaPlace read a newsletter from the symphony describing the success of the event, and the positive influence of music on children.

“I don’t think the weather was an issue that day,” LaPlace said. “I know it was snowing, but the school dispatched a rooter bus to take people to the game that day. So if that bus could go, I think the fourth-grader bus could have gone, as well. So 50 fourth graders missed that day because the school chose to support 30 athletes and completely forgot about the 670 remaining students, and their parents and teachers, as well.”

LaPlace said she is typically very supportive of the school, and respects the people who work there, but was unhappy with this particular decision.

“I think it reflects a lack of concern for education, and for parents, teachers, and students,” she said. “I think it sends the wrong message to everyone about what the mission of our school is. … I think we are a school whose primary purpose is to educate, and not to entertain. We’re not a rec center.”

“We can’t really afford, as a school, to slip,” she continued. “It’s not like we have a super bright record. We have to give vigilance on this mission. On the school website it says that ‘we strive for academic excellence and relevance.’ Well, let’s start acting like it.”

Those who attended the meeting applauded after LaPlace was done speaking.

School board member Butch Stanger responded first.

“It really affects a lot of the districts,” Stanger said, “and you know, sports is important to a lot of the students, but to disrupt the entire student body for that activity, … We need to be more conscientious this next year so that we don’t disrupt the other 670 kids. … It has to work for the school. The people who should be there should be allowed to be there. The community is going to get there one way or the other, but the other students who don’t have anything to do with that, or don’t have the time or the interest, we shouldn’t affect them here at LR.”

Director Rich Black also responded. “I think there are ways we can solve this going forward so that this last-second change doesn’t take place again,” he said. “It was disruptive, it was the wrong signal. I expect us to do a better job in the future.”

Superintendent Paul Turner said that the decision was his, and also that the decision to cancel the fourth-grade trip, which he feels bad about, was a seperate, unconnected decision from the half days for basketball.

Athletic Director Tim Rasmussen, as well as Stanger, spoke about the great turnout at the games.

“It was fantastic how many people showed up to support everything, just like they did all year long,” Rasmussen said, adding that students would have likely skipped school regardless of whether there were half days, thus still disrupting education.

“The great thing would be to have a night game, but we don’t get to control when they play,” he said.

All agreed to try to handle the situation better the next time it comes up.

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 

Powered by ROAR Online Publication Software from Lions Light Corporation
© Copyright 2024

Rendered 03/20/2024 22:57