ALLEGANY, N.Y. — A small group of parents and grandparents attended Tuesday’s board meeting for the Allegany-Limestone Central School district to complain about the cancellation of a trip to a South Carolina tournament for the girls’ softball team.
The trip, which had been planned and saved for by the team over the past year, had been canceled a few days before the planned trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C. due to transportation issues. The first parent to speak to the board was Kellie Shea, who asked the group why the trip was canceled just days before the girls were scheduled to leave. She said if the parents had known the trip was to be abruptly canceled, they would have tried to find a solution.
“There are many disappointed kids, I feel like there could have been more of an answer for the kids,” Shea said.
Superintendent Dr. Karen Geelan said she and the board members shared in the students’ disappointment.
“We certainly understand the confusion and frustration,” Geelan said. “I had not received the paperwork for the trip that needs to be in my office six weeks in advance.”
She said the school district worked hard to put the trip in order and even contacted other school districts to see if the team could ride in their vans. Geelan said the only thing missing for the team’s trip was a chaperone to accompany students whose parents were unable to attend.
“Our coach refused to do it, and we were unable to find anyone else to do that,” Geelan added. Coach Paul Furlong was not at the meeting, but had previously said he was unable to drive a van with team members and serve as a chaperone because his wife and children, including an infant, were also traveling with him.
Shea noted that other school districts from Cattaraugus County traveled to the tournament with students who were entrusted to the care of parents of other team players. Another parent, Jackie Woods, said her daughter would have traveled with a family who were longtime friends and had taken the youngster on other vacations.
Grandparents Barbara Ryan and her husband Bob Ryan said they had traveled to South Carolina a couple of days prior to the team’s trip.
“My husband and I took five grandkids to this game and found out five hours into our drive that it was canceled,” she said. “I just don’t understand … all you had to do was look and plan ahead, and you didn’t get into it.”
Bob Ryan then challenged the board on the statement that Furlong canceled the trip.
“I think you’re wrong in that statement, I think the board did not approve it,” he said.
Bob Ryan also noted that he believed that somebody in the school district “had dropped the ball,” by not catching and correcting mistakes for the necessary paperwork in a timely fashion.
Board president Joe Zimmer also addressed the issue and said the board had discussed the matter for about one hour at the last meeting two weeks ago.
“To put our name on a trip means we are responsible from the time (the students) leave this school until the time they come back,” Zimmer explained. “We didn’t have assurances that transportation would be provided and we didn’t have assurances of the safety and security of the students with district personnel while they were at the site.
“So when we turned back the field trip two weeks ago … we could not put the school’s name on this until we had assurances,” he said.
Bob Ryan agreed with this concern, but asked “why wasn’t this brought up on the first of March” instead of at the March 24 meeting.
Zimmer answered that he understood the concern with the time lapse and indicated that issues such as this would be addressed in the future.
Bob Ryan responded, “Too bad, my granddaughter is a senior.”
In other business at the meeting, the board held discussions on the senior citizen exemption income limit, and adopted a policy for the use of surveillance cameras in the school district.
The board also approved the disposal of four televisions that were determined to be obsolete. Also approved was the school district’s financial reserve plan.
