No Decision Made On Greenport School Tennis Court Access

At Wednesday night'sBoard of Education meeting, Greenport resident Kate McDowell presented board members with a petition she claimed held 150 names of responsible Greenport residents who want the the school day.

The issue came up for debate two weeks ago, when asked McDowell to leave the tennis courts during the school day. McDowell says she has been using the courts since 1998 and it was the first time she was asked to leave school property.

"One time I was approached by and he asked us not to park in the teacher's parking spaces and to use the space by the tennis courts instead. It's bizarre that, all of a sudden, it became an issue," said McDowell.

Board President Tina Volinski told McDowell that once the story hit the media, she had received letters from many parents and teachers who agreed with the school's policy.

Former Board Member Gary Charters said it really was not a recent change in school policy but an ongoing change the district has been addressing over the years, which included locking the doors.

"When the tennis court was built in 1998, we did not have fancy safe school legislation that we do now. The parents demanded it, and they got the building locked down," Charters said.

According to Charters, when the tennis courts were built in 1998, the Village of Greenport had the money and the school had the property to build the courts. As soon as the tennis courts were completed, it came under ownership of the school. Charters, who said he does not agree with the enhanced security because Greenport is a nice community, said the school policy and safe school legislation makes it mandatory to secure the building and grounds. The way the rules are set up, Charters said, the school does not have the manpower to police the grounds during the school day.

Village resident Eileen Kapell said the Village could have put the tennis courts on Moore's Lane but chose to put them on school property. Kapell said, at the time, there really was not all the fear mongering going on as there is today and pointed out that most of the terrible things happen by someone who already has access.

"If I'm playing tennis at 9:00 a.m., I'm your eyes. If I see something sketchy, I'm going to report it. We should be seen as an asset, not a threat," Kapell said.

Kapell encouraged the school to "inspire a culture of responsibility" and as long as the people using the tennis courts are not disrupting academics, they should be allowed to use the courts.

Board member Heather Wolf is open to a compromise but added the school is liable for everything that goes on during the day from bell to bell and that even board members are required to sign in during the school day.

Kapell was not opposed to having users sign in and present identification to use the courts and stressed that waiting to play until 3:00 p.m. this time of year is not sufficient because it gets dark too quickly.

Board member Michael Mazzaferro was looking at the broader scope and he recalled here was a sign by the east entrance that said school grounds were not to be used during the school day.

"If we open it up for one, we have to open it up for all," said Mazzaferro.

Volinski said the board would be reviewing other schools policies and checking with the district's insurance company to develop a policy to present at the December board meeting.