The members of the School Board of the Solon Community School District (SCSD) serve on a variety of committees including policy review, which as it’s name implies, periodically examines every district policy in search of necessary updates and revisions, and looks for any conflicts between policies.
The committee found one such conflict between 508.2 “Open Times” and 905.1 “Community Use of School District Buildings,” and presented it to the full board for discussion Thursday, Feb, 17 during their regular monthly meeting.
Policy 508.2 states in part, “Any practices scheduled on Sundays shall be held after 1 pm. and attendance must be voluntary. It shall be the responsibility of the building principal and activities director to oversee the scheduling of school activities for compliance with this policy. Variances from this policy require the prior approval of the activities director.”
905.1 states in part, “Consistent with Board policy on Open Times, District facilities will not be available for use for activities involving Solon students after 6pm on Wednesdays or before noon on Sundays, except as may be otherwise authorized by the Board on a case-by-case basis.”
Board member Cassie Rochholz, representing the policy committee, pointed out the noon vs. 1:00 p.m. conflict in policies. “The first thing we need to do is reconcile that difference, so, change one or the other.” Rochholz said it was also an opportunity to review the “open times” policy, which states attendance at Sunday practices must be voluntary. “Voluntary is a very strong suggestion, because anybody who has had a child involved in any sport, you know little to nothing is ‘voluntary’ when it comes to practice.” The presumption is, if an athlete does not attend, they likely will not be playing that week.
Board member Dan Coons, a 15-year volunteer coach for the Spartan football program, stated he’s never seen anything punitive related to kids missing practice due to other conflicts, such as work, while noting the assumption is there that practice sessions are mandatory. “I do think we need education from the Activities Director to the coaches. I think it’s an important part to talk to the coaches, saying ‘Hey, we get this. We don’t want to be punitive, but we also don’t want to not have the opportunity for kids to be there.”
Board member Adam Haluska, a former Hawkeye basketball player who played at the professional level, had a different take on Sunday practice saying the kids should be able to go in on Sunday for some extra work, but noted “The gym’s open, but you shouldn’t have to have that instruction there. You have Monday through Saturday to get all that (practice) done. We value family time, right? These kids need a break. What’s the biggest thing? These kids are stressed out. If we’re really going to put a value on that, hey, say Sunday’s off. But if you want to go shoot or do something, it’s your free time.”
Coons said with the football program, the students historically came in at 6:00 a.m. Monday morning for lifting and work-out’s as a team. “The high school kids voted, as a team, seven or eight years ago, to have practice on Sunday so they didn’t have to come in early on Monday. That was driven, Sunday practice, was driven by the athletes.”
Board President Tim Brown reminded the board the open times policy is a “relaxed policy,” or a policy in-place that hasn’t been followed, which has resulted in kids not being able to pursue other activities due to the necessity of attending a Sunday practice. “When you’re offering your tickets to an Iowa basketball game and the parent says, “My kid would love to go, but they can’t because they’ve got practice that day,” that tells me that it’s not voluntary.” Brown said the policy was crafted in response to coaches holding all-day practices and was seen as a middle ground to provide some structured time for practice, while also giving the athletes time for family or other activities. “If any student believes it’s not voluntary, it’s not voluntary.”
“I think it would be good for the district if we make the change for Sunday, I would completely support that. But if we’re going to do it, I think it would be beneficial for the district to sit the coaches down at their very first meeting in August, that the coaches say, ‘This is a 100% voluntary activity.’ I agree 100% we’re driving these kids to tears.”
Student representative Hillary Wilson, a multi-sport athlete was asked for her perspective.
“We have practice on Sundays for basketball, and it’s kind-of a weird time because it’s at 5:00 p.m. You really can’t go anywhere because you have practice.” That weekend was especially busy with a Saturday evening Regional game at Benton Community, which meant a 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning walk-through, a 4:45 p.m. bus departure, and the 7:00 p.m. game. “And then we’ll have practice on Sunday,” she added. Unfortunately, the Lady Spartans fell 59-52 ending their season. “So, we have nothing, no time for homework, and finals are coming up. Sunday is kind-of a relax day when you just want time off. But we have softball on Sundays, so our afternoons are packed (softball 1-3:00 p.m., basketball 5-6:00 p.m.) so our Sundays are not relaxed at all.”
Haluska said during his time at Iowa, Sunday was built-in (per the NCAA) as their day off. “We needed that. Just from a school perspective, to get things caught up.”
Coons pointed out for Spartan football, Sunday is key for watching game film of the next opponent and getting the gameplan started. “It’s just different. I’m not saying it’s right, and if you say no, we’ll make it work.”
Brown reiterated the reason for the discussion was becoming clear. “We have a policy that prohibits required activities, but we’re talking as if everyone has to be there because otherwise, we don’t get everything done, and there’s no way we’ll be ready for the next game.”
“The problem with this town is, everybody does everything to the umpteenth level,” said Coons. “No matter what. I will support anything you come up with, I am just telling you the challenges we have.”
“The question,” Brown said, “comes down to the community standpoint. Parents who say, ‘I don’t see my kids because they’re at the high school all day, and you’ve got them seven days a-week. That’s the struggle.”
“They all want to win, which is great, but it comes at a cost,” said Coons.
No action was taken, and the discussion will continue next month with Wilson charged by the board to survey her fellow students for their input.