Policy Forces Cancellation of Outside After-School Programs

— Hundreds of girls enrolled in an after-school program may end up using outside facilities or waiting until 5:30 p.m. to meet because of new, strict enforcement of a district policy regarding facility use.

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Policy And Guidelines

See Rogers School District policy and guidelines governing building use and a memo to building principals at www.nwaonline.com/d….

Elementary school gymnasiums, cafeterias, commons and playgrounds in use by Kid’s World, a district after-school program, are now considered unavailable to any outside group while the program is in session, according to a memo distributed Wednesday in the Rogers School District. Kid’s World meets in 12 of Rogers 14 elementary schools.

Girls on the Run, an after-school athletic and character-building program, is an example of programs that cannot meet during Kid’s World, said Virginia Abernathy, assistant superintendent of elementary curriculum and instruction.

Girls on the Run had 250 girls enrolled for a spring session beginning Feb. 18, said Suzanne Clinard, executive director. The national program began at Joe Mathias Elementary School in 2005, Clinard said.

“That’s very sad,” she said Thursday when she was told about the district’s decision.

Review of the policy began after representatives of the Good News Club asked to meet at Westside Elementary School.

Email obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show the Rogers School District was contacted by Gary Atkins, Arkansas coordinator for the Good News Club, in October about setting up an after-school club. District policy requires outside groups apply to use facilities. Policy also requires scheduling not conflict with school events. The policy was discussed in a series of email.

The Good News Club is a ministry of Child Evangelism Fellowship, and its purpose is to evangelize and disciple children in the Christian faith, according to the organization’s website, www.cefonline.com.

Good News Clubs are meant to reinforce positive values, Atkins said.

“It’s not just evangelism,” he said.

In late November, Atkins noted other clubs use school facilities and weren’t charged rent. A mid-December email to Abernathy pointed to the New York lawsuit Good News Club vs. Milford Central School. The 2001 case decided in favor of the organization, arguing the Milford district violated free speech by denying access to the school grounds.

Rogers School Board members discussed open access to facilities during a Jan. 17 study session.

“Whatever rules you’ve got for anybody — written or unwritten — have got to be followed for everybody,” David Matthews, the district’s attorney, told the board during the meeting.

The School District must balance two things, Matthews said Thursday. As a public institution they must not trespass on the establishment clause and appear to endorse any religious group, but as a limited public forum, they offer open access and cannot discriminate based on viewpoint. The establishment clause is part of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which guarantees freedom of religion.

“They can’t pick who gets to use the building,” Matthews said.

The district also has to follow its own policy. Board members said at the meeting they understood administrators would enforce the policy.

School Board policy guidelines say school-related groups may use buildings for authorized district and community programs, but profit or nonprofit groups cannot use facilities without an application and rental agreement, and cannot use the buildings more than three times per year. Policy also provides for waivers to the guidelines through an administrative committee.

Jerry Carmichael, School Board president, was unavailable to comment on Wednesday’s action as he was out of the country.

The Kid’s World program would prevent use of many of the elementary buildings under the policy. The program has 437 children enrolled across 12 of the district’s 14 elementary schools and ends at 5:30 p.m. Children in the Kid’s World program meet in the cafeteria or commons area for activities and a snack and use the playground for activities, Abernathy said. If it is raining, Kid’s World will use the gymnasium.

Other programs can rent the building after that time, but before 5:30 p.m. areas normally open for reservation by outside groups — the cafeteria, commons and gymnasium — are closed.

“These (facilities) are being used by Kids World and we can’t intermix those groups,” Abernathy said.

Administrators said they were unaware outside groups were using school buildings to meet until Atkins brought it to their attention.

Good News Clubs meet in other school districts, but do periodically run into problems, Atkins said.

Bentonville hosts six Good News Clubs after-school, said Mary Ley, Bentonville’s executive director of communication. Bentonville also has Boy Scouts and other community partners who use the cafeteria and gym areas after school.

Bentonville’s in-district and outside after-school programs are held in school’s cafeteria and gymnasium. School activities get first priority, according to Bentonville policy, but as buildings are constructed with public money they “should be used to the fullest extent possible” by community groups.

“We’re very supported in Bentonville by our community,” Ley said.

Girls on the Run operates programs in six school districts in Northwest Arkansas. The program is mostly conducted outside, Clinard said. District administrators remained undecided Thursday about whether or not the girls’ running group could use tracks separate from playground areas, which is considered in use by the after-school program.

“After our school day, we consider our playground areas as public areas. It’s like a public park,” said David Cauldwell, district business manager. Cauldwell said, however, the school day isn’t considered over if Kid’s World is in session.

Cauldwell said in an email Thursday district officials are reviewing all groups using school facilities after hours. Daisy Scouts using the media center at Bellview Elementary School were asked to leave in December.

A tech group at Westside Elementary School and a boys running program in Lowell can continue, Abernathy said, because they are extensions of school curriculum standards taught by teachers on their own time and aren’t affiliated with outside nonprofit groups. Teachers could still have a girls running program if they dropped their national affiliation and the character component, she said.

“It just can’t be Girls on the Run,” Abernathy said.

Outside groups would have to request a waiver to use school facilities more than three times a year or to use them without cost. The case-by-case decision would be through a committee that includes the building’s principal, Cauldwell said.

Administrators are just trying to follow policy, Abernathy said. Prior to Wednesday’s memo decisions on what groups used elementary schools were being made by the principal without the required paperwork.

“We’re not putting anything new in place,” she said. “We’re trying to follow our board policy.”

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