By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
Citing its usefulness and popularity in the community, Washington-Caldwell officials are giving an outside winter sports organization use of the district’s sole building for free this upcoming school year.
During a broader discussion on the district’s facility use policy for the upcoming year, the School Board on July 27 voted to waive all fees for Tichigan Youth Basketball, which has a long history of using the Town of Waterford facility along County Line Road.
Superintendent Mark Pienkos suggested waiving all fees for TYB, which teaches area students basketball fundamentals during a 10-week period in the winter.
“It’s such a valuable resource to this community,” Pienkos said. “But there are some cost considerations you might want to keep in mind.”
Those considerations include the possibility of clearing the driveway, parking lot and walkway leading to and from Washington School of snow on Saturdays — a day when a district staffer typically is not on site since school is not in session.
That finer point likely will be hashed over between the district and TYB in the upcoming season.
But Pienkos was quick to point out the district’s relationship with TYB has been mutually beneficial. The organization donated new scoreboards at Washington School’s gymnasium.
Beyond TYB, Pienkos said few outside organizations have rented Washington School in recent years. The only other notable example, he said, were local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts troops.
Based on the board’s motion this week, the district’s fee-waiver arrangement with TYB is recurring and subject to renewal each year. For now, it applies only to the 2015-16 budget.
According to its website, TYB is open to students in grades 3 to 8.
On average, about 200 students take part in activities, and they are held at almost all Waterford area public schools. In addition to Washington School, activities, games and tournaments are held at Drought, Evergreen, North Cape, Trailside, Waterford Union High and Woodfield schools.
One Union Grove area school, Yorkville Elementary, also is a host site for the organization’s activities.
Registration for TYB’s 18th season begins Oct. 1.
Other business
In other business, the School Board also voted to hold the district’s annual meeting Monday, Oct. 26. During the meeting, which will be conducted by district residents, rather than the board itself, attendees will have an opportunity to learn about Washington-Caldwell’s 2015-16 budget and adopt the property tax levy.
The timing of the annual meeting is a departure of past practice, when district officials held it in September.
Pienkos recommended a late October date for several reasons, including logistics. By Oct. 26, Washington-Caldwell administrators should have all of the pieces of the puzzle assembled.
While best-guess estimates continue to be assembled, several pieces of information — including the exact amount of financial assistance from the state — are not known until late October.
Student enrollment, tallied and recorded in mid-September, play a pivotal role in determining specifically how much state aid Washington-Caldwell receives each year.
In the past, the School Board in late October typically modified the tax levy adopted by annual meeting participants when all known information came into focus.
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