Betty Hoadley was a teacher in the Concord schools for over 26 years. She was five times elected to the school board and served 15 years on that board. She was chairperson of each of the two Concord School District Charter Commissions. She served eight years on the Board of Trustees for the University System of New Hampshire.
Is the school district really going to have a district and YMCA partnership as part of the middle school project? Who knows. Many Concord residents have not even heard about that possibility.
It has certainly flown under the radar and no details have been released. Exactly what programs and services would the Y provide for Concord students? One has to wonder why the secrecy or is it procrastination?
The whole idea of such partnerships came out of a think tank in California a few years ago. A few California cities adopted the idea, but the partnerships usually involved shared athletic and exercise places and spaces. A number of large Midwestern cities have adopted the idea. The closest example of the Y partnerships with a school district is in Rochester, New York. There are none in New England.
Back in August of 2017, seven men from Concord went to Lincoln, Nebraska, to view the program there. Four of the men were associated with the school district and the remaining three were Y associates. All viewed the physical plants in Lincoln and two of the several schools were newly erected. It is likely that the Concord folks were impressed.
Now fast forward to 2022 and think of how our world has changed in just those five years. Think carefully about what the pandemic restrictions did to student and teacher life and think too about the kinds of trespass that have happened at schools.
What follows will be three reasons why the Concord School District and the local YMCA should not form a partnership.
The financial arrangements for that would create a great risk to Concord taxpayers. It is rumored that the district would build a two-story structure for the Y on a lease-to-buy basis, one located on the school campus. YMCA officials have freely admitted that successful fundraising has been difficult. Everyone knows that the downtown Y building and pool are aged and badly in need of renovations. Would you characterize the Y as in a good financial position?
Further, the Concord School District has nothing in its mission pertaining to being a landlord. It is appropriate to collect small rental fees from others using school spaces in non-school times. Summer rentals for programs that need space on rainy days are one example. After-school programs are another. Fledgling church organizations have rented space on Sundays. But a long-term lease-to-buy arrangement is fraught with potential problems and taxpayers would suffer.
The second major reason is that in today’s world we need to ensure the safety of all students and staff at any school campus. The Concord School Board in early September voted to close schools on the two general election days this fall. How could that group possibly justify an arrangement that would bring scores of unidentified YMCA staff, YMCA members, and YMCA visitors to the school campus for the 180 days the schools are open? Think how easy it would be for other people intent on no good at the school to gain access to the school’s grounds. Security is the second major reason.
We know that the next few years ahead will be difficult for teachers and school administrators. The mission is clear: focus on student learning, focus on catching up with the student achievements that dropped during the pandemic and respond to the mental and emotional states of all the school participants.
The school does not need another layer of meetings with Y folks, collaboration, planning, and evaluations, for example. The school’s mission is clear and compelling. Don’t add any more bureaucracy to it. That is the third reason.
Now the challenge is to let the school board know its task. Many, many months ago the board voted to build a new Rundlett Middle School and abandon the idea of renovation. A few months ago the school board made the decision to keep the school a grade 6-8 school and not include grade 5 students at the middle school. The next step is to deal with the potential partnership with the local YMCA.
Call or email any school board member and express your feelings. My feeling is clear. I have already sent multiple emails to each board member and the superintendent detailing the dangers which are imminent with such a partnership. Make your opinion heard. Write a letter to the editor to the Monitor. Call a board member or two. Email all of them. Help get a decision.