One of the comments made in Royce Haynes’ Nov. 26 letter to the editor was, “and a new district office with spacious offices for non-productive administrators are wants, not necessarily needs.” How do you know they are not productive? On what basis did you arrive at such a sentiment? You said you are retired. Do you even have children in the district? I am a parent of two students and can tell you that my interactions with faculty, staff and administrators (in my small sample size) have been nothing but first-class. That includes interactions at the district office and at two schools in the Cape Henlopen School District. This has been my experience. I would think if you were going to call a whole group of people “non-productive,” you would take the time to provide some evidence to support your contention.
A fact you cannot deny is this area has grown and continues to grow, with new communities being built every day. Now is the time to future-proof the district. There will be without question more students than are currently attending, in the near future. To accommodate more students, there will need to be more teachers, staff and administration. To accommodate all three, you will need more and better facilities. Why would you wait until a situation is untenable before you act?
When it comes to facilities, you are opposed to a swimming pool for the high school. You mentioned you were on the school board decades ago in New Jersey. You didn’t specify, so I picked the first county in New Jersey alphabetically, which is Atlantic. I counted nine high schools. The first four high schools I looked at (Mainland Regional, Pleasantville, Atlantic City and Egg Harbor Township) all had their own swimming pools. The other three (Cedar Creek, Absegami, and Oakcrest) share a pool at the district’s George Hess Education Center. Two high schools did not participate in swimming. All seven schools that did participate in swimming had access to their own pool. Also, I found in my brief research that a school swimming facility can benefit more than just the high school. In some locations, the community uses these facilities as well. And these facilities can earn an income with public use!
So, we are now in the holiday season. The first movie I watched to celebrate was “It’s a Wonderful Life.” We know this film is set in a small New York town in 1945. And wouldn’t you know, the high school has a swimming pool. With a retractable roof, no less. In 1945. It’s soon to be 2025. This year, let’s not be a grinch. I believe in you and the others who rejected the last referendum. I believe you are going to do the right thing and support our teachers, staff and administrators in providing the best, most complete high school educational experience the State of Delaware has to offer. That would be a great gift indeed.
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