Swimming With Alligators - The Community School Pool (7/19/2010)

I've been seeing a lot of revisionist history lately --- some folks are asking the same questions that were asked and answered many times previously. I want to make the record very clear -- but, rather than wasting more time, I am rerunning the below post which was made almost exactly two years ago -- in July of 2010!

It's ironic that we are having the exact same discussion two years later!

I am not a big fan of crowds or chlorine, but I do enjoy water. I’ve been know to splash around in a pool – although never in any strenuous, or organized fashion. I would much prefer to hang on the side, sip an adult beverage and contemplate humanity as we know it – and, of course, soak up a few rays.

This laid back outlook is a far cry from the position exhibited by the very vocal supporters of the Sandwich Community School Pool.

This conflict raised its ugly head when a review of the Community School financial statements showed that several operating expenses of the pool were actually being paid by the high school or other Community School programs -- hardly the end of the Earth, but not great business either. The responses I received from most “Pool People” were either (a) No, they’re not or (b) So, what if they are?

The problem was that nobody seemed to know exactly WHAT it cost to operate the pool. This is an important distinction because the revenue generated by the pool needs to be matched against the cost of operating the pool. The simple concept that I tried to sell was: “If the pool costs more than it collects, it is losing money”.

If the pool is losing money, it means somebody else is paying the bills – either the patrons of other Community School programs or, the taxpayers who are paying to operate the high school building. While this idea didn’t bother the Pool People – it did bother many taxpayers and many other Community School customers who were already paying their own bills, and didn’t feel like chipping in to subsidize the cost of somebody else’s dip in the pool.

Kissing the Third Rail -- A Blast From the Past (July 27, 2010)

If discussing the Community Pool is similar to swimming with Alligators, dealing with the Community School itself is not unlike kissing the third rail. (for those NOT from Dorchester – google “MBTA and electrocution”)

I need to stress that the Community School is a great concept – it encourages full utilization of some of the Town’s biggest assets (its school buildings) which would otherwise sit empty after 4 PM most days. It also provides lifelong learning opportunities for residents of Sandwich and surrounding towns to take courses in whatever subject may interest them. It is a terrific program and I have yet to meet anybody who did not want to see it succeed and prosper well into the future.

NOBODY wants to shut down the Community School!

One More time -- NOBODY wants to shut down the Community School!

This program has the potential for being a very cost-effective method of providing the service – the facilities are already there – the only issue should be how much EXTRA does it cost the School District to allow the public to use the building for the additional time?

Specifically:

• Cleaning costs - janitorial labor & cleaning supplies

• Utility costs - heating and lighting the building in the evening

• Other costs - off-hours snow & ice removal, additional security

• Administrative costs – additional labor to operate programs

• Program-specific costs – The Pool, computers, Drivers Ed sub-contractor, etc.

Stating the obvious ...... Finally!

I have no doubt that Dr. Canfield realized the depth of the pool problem (no pun intended) long ago.

BUT, the shrewd politician that he is, I also have no doubt that he saw what happened to his predecessor who was practically drawn and quartered for supporting a prior School Committee's efforts to bring financial accountability to the Community School.

As we have seen over and over, if you cut reading, writing, or arithmetic, people might quietly bitch among themselves, but generally the only public outcry is a stifled yawn.

But, if you propose any changes which may impact Pool Users, The Community School, Sandwich Youth Soccer, or any other private group which benefits from the use of publicly-maintained facilities -- God help you, you mean-spirited SOB!

Meeting rooms would immediately fill with uninformed elderly swimmers and equally uninformed angry sports parents. Nobody cared that Sandwich tax dollars were being diverted from the K-12 education budget to support the entertainment of a small group of people (many of whom did not even live in Sandwich).

The Angry Crowd would just storm in, have their tantrum, and then storm out. Nobody bothered to stay for the part of the meeting where the budget cuts were discussed -- they only heard that they might be asked to pay for the extra services that other taxpayers had been providing to them for free.

Unfortunately, nobody ever speaks out against the Angry Crowd. The few School Committee members that have spoken out either got fed up and left, or were targeted to be replaced by inexperienced, unprofessional, drones whose sole purpose was to represent the special interests of their supporters, and seek vengeance for any perceived effort to change the status quo.

Canfield is no fool.

He installed new management at the Community School, and waited until folks got comfortable, --- and then he raised the issue that has been obvious to the (maybe) 6 people who have paid any attention.

He has even been framing it nicely --- the pool is a wonderful asset to the entire community. But, if the Town's taxpayers want to continue to provide this benefit, than they will have to vote the funds to pay for it. The School Department will no longer redirect dollars from the K-12 education budget to subsidize pool operations.

And, by the way, no more Community School people wandering around the building during the day

The last time this public access issue was raised, there was a public outcry against the former Superintendent and some School Committee members. We could spend thousands on Building security -- but for $50 you could buy a pool pass and wander around the locker room naked with the high school kids. "The Hell with security --- "SHE" won't let people in the building!"

This time, the silence is deafening. Maybe because the Emptyprize "forgot" to put these items in their story last week? Where's the bitchy editorials, the interviews with the usual suspects, and the one-sided, half-assed stories which seem to have been written before meetings even happen?

It seems allowing strangers to wander around the school (even with their clothes on) is frowned upon by the group that handles high school accreditation. Gee, could they have the same concerns about school safety that the prior Superintendent and School Committee members had raised?

I like the Groundhogs Day analogy. We are right back to where we were three years ago. Except, we have wasted three years of effort, and tens of thousands of dollars on legal fees which could have have gone into improving the school system.

And, somebody's professional reputation was trashed.

Nice work.

Deja Vu All Over Again ... (by Bob Guerin)

"I got Nuthin! "  said the Groundhog ...

In the movie Groundhog Day, Actor Bill Murray portrays a weatherman who finds himself living the same day over and over again.

Here in Sandwich, it’s the School Committee that seems to be reliving their yesterdays.

About the only difference between life in Sandwich and life in the Murray movie is that here in town it’s all about the community school pool not Punxsutawney Phil.

Don’t believe me? Read this week’s Sandwich Broadsider.

This week’s paper reports that Superintendent C. Richard Canfield has broached the idea about the town picking up utility and chemical costs for Sandwich High School pool operations. “I think its discussion we should be having,” Canfield told the school committee. “The cost for utilities and chemicals is $60,000. This would preserve the pool. Otherwise, we’d have to work away from that and say we just cannot absorb the cost.”

Did Dr. Canfield really say this is a discussion we should be having?

Bob Simmons and I began this very “discussion” 6-, 8-, maybe 10-years ago!

Much like Bill Murray’s character in the movie, after reading this week’s paper, I am wondering if anybody else but me is experiencing a sickening sense of Déjà vu?