| abstract | - by Francesmary Modugno Against the wishes of groups present at the May 27 meeting, some Carlynton directors want to limit facility usage to organizations with 100% district youths and will charge non-complying groups thousands of dollars. Even under the current policy, which allows 25% non-resident membership before high fees kick in, several groups told the directors they have trouble fielding teams and that raising the percent of required residents will cause them to fold. Directly opposing what people wished and violating their oaths to represent the people’s will, these directors want to make policies limiting our children’s opportunities and leaving many with no after-school activities. Why? They believe non-residents take opportunities from our children because non-residents outperform our children. They further imply our children need contrived opportunities for success rather than being able to succeed on their own. Not only are these beliefs untrue, they are insulting to our children. Without basis, these directors also assert that clubs “train the competition” and that’s the reason Carlynton JV and varsity teams don’t win more often. Let’s assume that were true. How would barring non-residents from clubs help? Non-resident athletes would go elsewhere, enriching other teams and improving in their athletic skills, while our clubs would be unable to field teams and would fold. We might no longer be “training the competition” but we would certainly not be training our children, either. That would help Carlynton teams win more? What does the smallest school district in the area with the fewest after-school activities gain by limiting its programs and how does that benefit citizens? No director provided answers to those questions because there are none. To the contrary, parent-volunteers who run the youth programs stated that tighter membership restrictions will limit our children’s opportunities, provide less enriching environments for growth, and cause club fees to rise beyond the reach of many residents. Still these directors advocate further limiting or excluding non-residents. Who are these non-residents? They are our neighbors in Ingram, Thornburgh, Greentree, and Scott. They live blocks away from our elementary schools and down the street from our high school, itself located in Montour. They are our children’s friends from church and other activities. Their districts provide our children with programs and resources unavailable at Carlynton, such as the gymnastic facilities that Montour allows Carlynton gymnasts to use because our district has none. Our neighboring districts welcome non-resident youths, placing minimal restrictions on club memberships. Let’s hope their directors don’t adopt the exclusive view of some of our directors, which will only hurt our children. Instead, let’s hope that like our neighbors, and in accord with the expressed wishes of the people, our directors will enable clubs with a majority of district members to use our facilities at cost, while charging non-residents a small facilities usage fee. With proper procedures, such a policy will give our children the greatest opportunities in the most enriching, collaborative environments, and will keep costs low. That way, everyone wins.
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