PLEASE NOTE that the OJR School Board Building and Grounds Committee meeting is TONIGHT, Tuesday January 22nd and that the time has been changed to 7:30 PM, and will be held at the OJR Admin Building. If you care about the future of the OJR Pool , attend the meeting, email the OJR SB, (sbmembers@ojrsd.com) as well as the OJR Admin, and let them know how you feel about the future of the OJR Pool. Also, be sure to post your emails, thoughts and concerns to this blog.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
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6 comments:
Dear Parents of Swimmers and Divers,
I know some of you are attending the Buildings and Grounds meeting tonight at 7:30pm. That is great. I would like to remind people that if you are going to speak, remember please, that we want the board members to work with us and for us (and our students)...as they were elected to do. We also want the paid administration to do the same because that is what they are being paid to do. Although, if they feel that they are being "attacked" I know it will be more ugly and we won't accomplish anything.
I know some of you already know that Dr. Marchini of the high school has received some very "hot" emails and phone calls. It is ok to vent as long as you are letting people know that is what you are doing. He is not the decision maker for the pool. However, I will say that he jumped in and joined the pool committee and has been the most positive and involved person on the administrative level I have ever seen in years. He swims at 6am at OJR pool and attends meetings regarding the pool on his days off. I only regret he was not here 5 years ago.
So remember, we are all very emotional regarding the pool but we really need to realize how and who we direct our emotions to if we want positive results. We are there for our kids and the community....
Thanks for listening.
Dee Bennett
Letter to the Editor
Daily Local News
The Phoenix
Lack of support at OJR disappoints
As a member of the Owen J. Roberts School District and a parent of a student swimmer on the OJR swimming and diving team, I am disappointed with the lack of support received by the OJR board. For the past two to three years, members of the swimming and diving team have been attempting to work with the OJR board over alternatives to closing their pool during some much-needed renovations. When asked to speak at school board meetings, often times the agenda item gets scratched. When asked for participation from school administration, they do not attend. When a new auditorium is seeking additional funding, the check is written immediately.
At the heart of the matter, is the OJR board and administration not accepting responsibility for the well-being of the schoolchildren, not understanding or wanting to understand the importance to the children and parents of the pool, and the unwillingness to work with members and families of the team on alternatives. In all, the OJR Middle School swimming pool is scheduled to begin a renovation project at the end of the 2008 school year. To date, the board and administration of OJR have yet to meet “officially” with the parents of the high school swim team or the OJR swimming and diving team to discuss alternatives to these important swimming programs in the school district.
This is an absolute outrage and a very big disappointment! How can a school board that is supposed to be looking out for the well-being of the children be so closed-minded and unwilling to work with parents for an alternative that would meet the needs of both the school district and the swimming programs? How can a school board be so willing to close a program that has offered more scholastic scholarships for swimming and diving than football, basketball, baseball and soccer? OJR has the largest winter swimming and diving program in the tri-county area; if these swimmers are forced to look for an alternative program, do they really expect them to return when the renovations are completed? Why is the board so opposed to listening to alternatives?
In closing, I have been a part of this school district for seven years and a member of the OJR swimming and diving program for one year. I am very disappointed, angry, upset and concerned with how this matter is being handled. If the members of the board and administration are elected into their positions to be put in a position to look out for the best interest of our children and this is an example of how they conduct business, I would suggest to parents looking to move into the district not do so, members currently in the district to fight for this program to continue, and for the board to look at themselves in the mirror and ask themselves, “is this really the best decision for the well-being of the children?” Alternatives can be reached, but it will take both parties working together to make this happen.
John and Susan Hnat
Chester County
To the Owen J Roberts School Board, the OJR Administration and especially the
general taxpaying public of the OJRSD including Senior Citizens;
As I have previously presented, my wife Martha and I are in an "empty nest" environment with both boys grown and moved away. This said, I still have NO problem supporting a COMPLETE school and community pool program even if it means a slight rise in taxes. (Our taxes keep going up anyway, let's see where they go for the good of the younger generations.)
Better for an elective process that can and will benefit a broad range of students and residents of the OJR district than a raise in taxes jammed down our throats by a developer's consumption of open space we pay taxes to preserve but are often left unprotected by elected officials.
Political overtones aside and personal experiences brought to the fore, I was greatly disappointed that I missed a pool and it's added dimension for competitive events when I was in high school at Friends Select, Philadelphia. Shortly after I graduated, the old school was torn down and a new one integrated with a high rise office building at 17th and the Parkway. Our school's soccer field was thereafter Astroturf and on a roof, but the lower level contained a big, beautiful pool! Boy, was I jealous! Although a little late, I was still welcome, as alumni, to use the pool on occasion when I lived in closer proximity.
This has carried over to our current lives. We joined the new YMCA over in Montco basically to use the indoor and outdoor pools. Should we "boomers" be able to pay less to do the same with OJR on weekends or selected evenings, it may help to swing the decision to move forward for those who may doubt that a top flight facility is "worth it."
This is still a selfish point of view and I should obviously concentrate on the student values that swimming can enhance, but that should be a "gimme." It's a great sport and recreation when young and wonderful cardio, low impact exercise as we age. It's a sad state of affairs when we place more importance on budgets and affordability than we do on exposure to sports, art, music and other rounding life experiences for the young and accessible healthy endeavors for the parents (of any age).
I do not know of others to whom I may send this to directly to make the best case for a betterment of the pool situation at OJR, but please use your connections to pass it along with my best wishes.
Best regards,
Bruce Baker
OJR SD taxpayer
East Vincent Township
To: OJR School Board members.
By this letter I am registering my concern that you have not found an acceptable alternative for the aquatics programs during the upcoming renovations of the Middle School.
I have been an OJR taxpayer for over 40 years. I am proud to say that our three sons graduated from OJR and have gone on to lead productive adult lives, which speaks well for the school system. It has come to my attention that this issue regarding the pools renovations/use has been in front of the board since October. During that time you have received information contrary to that of your architects regarding the need to make the changes outlined by him.
Has it not been possible to have determined by now which set of facts are accurate and act on the project on that basis. This movement on your part will allow the opposing parties to implement their next step if they cannot agree.
It is indicative of the pools value when you can say that many students from the last 10 years had partial or full aquatic skill scholarships to higher level training institution. Or that their performance in the swimming pool enhanced their placement in special branches of the military.
More important than this is the fact that large numbers of parents were now empowered to see their children learned basic swimming skills.
Of course similar statistics can be cited about other programs but that is the point. They are similar.
We make a major error when we place more value on one program/vocation then another. Society needs them all to function. I feel graduating students who are able to adapt to the changing needs of society should be a major goal of any educational system.
Just as we were the first of the local schools in the early ‘60 to see the value of a swimming pool, which included and aquatic program now we need to forge ahead into the needs of today’s students. This includes access to the life skill of swimming for both pleasure and competition. If you do not think this to be a life skill, ask any owner of a small watercraft if he would be responsible for the life of a non swimmer on his boat. Ask any adult who can not swim if they wish they had learned this skill before they left school.
It is my understanding that a group of concerned parents have applied to you for permission to assist by way of private fundraising to help bear the upgrade costs of the pool and its use. Is there some reason why the board has not acted on that request?
I realize it is hard to measure the value of a given program as different reviewers have different and legitimate concerns about what school experiences are most beneficial in adult life. From my perspective as someone with no family interest in any specific school programs, I would like to propose to you that we judge the programs value by how well it helps students move into the roles as adults in the community.
How many of the students will use the skills from a given program as the basis for their adult careers has probably been researched but the numbers should not be your concern. What should be your concern is to offer as many skill building activities as possible to allow students/parents to identify major areas of interest.
Certainly Reading, Writing, Math and Science need to be subjects taught to and learned by all students. Their ability to communicate or lack thereof will probably be the most important skill area for the majority of students regardless of their roles as an adult.
Most will become professional level; mechanics, environmental specialists, care givers, musicians, athletes, teachers, artists, scientists, and skilled workman. Almost all will become parents of the next generation. In that role they not you will be responsible for seeing their children make it to adulthood with a skill package that will serve as a basis for the lives.
Let me close by paraphrasing words spoken to my freshmen class at Penn State (1957) by President Eric Walker. "Ladies and Gentleman, I cannot tell you today how effective the programs you are about to enter will be. It will take about 20 years. Then, society will give us the answer because your success or lack thereof will in many cases be ascribed to the training and opportunities you were afforded while a student at Penn State.”
Thank you for reviewing my concerns.
Sincerely,
Ron Roth
Warwick Township
This Letter was sent to the OJR SB back in May of 2007
5/7/2007
To Whom It May Concern:
This letter is to confirm that here at West Chester University we not only are blessed with an abundance of pool space (12 lanes and a separate diving well), but that we are using that space to run one of the largest seasonal swim lesson programs on the east coast. In four months—between April and July—we have enjoyed 4,000 registrations yearly. At this year’s rate of $155 per swimmer, that translates to a gross of $620,000 that pays instructors, scholarships, and benefits the university in many other ways. While we are able to take more children at one time than would be possible at Owen J. Roberts, a program that ran twelve months, and an enlarged pool with ample teaching depth would start to bridge some of that gap. But even if the program were done at Owen J. in the same months that we work down here, a significant amount of money could be brought in to defray the cost of the facility.
We have a very popular program because we get results, with a technique that is a little unique. I know that if a similar approach were introduced in the Pottstown Phoenixville area, and that if the teachers were paid well with a very organized manager overseeing and training the staff, the pool would soon be full, benefiting the school district and reducing the cost to your tax base significantly.
Sincerely,
James J Rudisill
Aquatics Director/Head Coach
West Chester University
If only the school board and more specifically Dr. Forrest would put merit on all the children and approve keeping the pool open. They are paying tons of money to add area to the auditorium, as that issue is sooooo important to Myra Forrest. But the pool, which is used for PE class, HS swim team, age group program, senior citizens, swim lessons for kids, and fitness class - as well as free swim to the whole community! is not worth keeping open, not worth saving, not worth improving! I know why her license plate says "Symphoni" not "Swimwithme"
A frustrated taxpayer and parent!
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