Letters - Dec. 3, 2009

Disappointed

I was extremely disappointed with the actions taken by the Colfax School Board last week when they prohibited the high school football team their traditional Thanksgiving Day practice. My disappointment that this practice was prohibited is minuscule compared to my disappointment in how it was prohibited.

As I understand the situation, last year a few parents contacted board members regarding this traditional practice expressing their disapproval. The board then directed the superintendent to contact the high school coaches and prohibit this practice. This year several parents and players appeared before the Board to request that the practice be allowed. The board refused to discuss this request publicly, went into executive session, then informed the superintendent that the policy would not be changed.

If these are the facts, the actions of the board should be seriously looked at. My first question is how was this policy approved without the input of the coaches and the parents that understand that this practice is as much a community celebration as it is a “practice.” It’s an opportunity that only happens when the football team has made it deep into the playoffs. Alumni of the program are invited to this practice to give words of encouragement and appreciation for hard work and dedication of these young men.

I would also question the actions of a board that refuses to address these young men and their parents directly in a public forum. Instead this board sneeks behind closed doors under the guise of “personnel matters” to discuss the request. The voters of this school district deserve to know how their representatives feel about this issue and any other issue, and how policies are made. These young men deserve the respect of the board to hear the reasoning behind this policy and the rationale that their request was denied.

As for those that believe that this holiday should be spent with family and there is no room for a couple of hours for this tradition. I have had the privilege and honor of being close to these players and coaches this year. I can tell you that the bonds, love and respect, working for a common goal that these young men and their coaches have for each other, is in ways what makes family so special. Perhaps more members of the board should have taken some time to come out to a game or two. Maybe then they would have gotten an idea what this tradition and program are all about.

Keith Miller, Colfax