In the six year-plus history of this online publication, we have always supported the tough decisions of our locally elected officials. We vocally supported the school board's decision to build a new school and raise the money to pay for it. We fervently backed the village board's decision to move forward with a plan to clean up neglected properties. And we gave the thumbs up to the school board when they opted to ask Milford Public Schools to allow Dorchester boys to join their football and wrestling teams.
These decisions were made only after months or years of discussion and study. They were demonstrations of sound judgement. They reflected what the vast majority of residents wanted.
This past week, the DPS board, somewhat unexpectedly and in expedited fashion, voted to ask Milford Public Schools allow a two-year co-op arrangement for girls and boys basketball.
DHS is enduring a cycle in which there is a smaller-than-usual number of boys in grades 9-12. While participant numbers will be tight in future years, merging both basketball teams with Milford (or any other school) is unnecessary and unwise. This is not like the situation facing the football program, where DHS students would be without a team if an alternative wasn't offered.
The Dorchester school board should reconsider its latest decision, for several reasons:
The Dorchester school board should reconsider its latest decision, for several reasons:
1.) School is still about academics. Most of us on the Times staff participated in DHS athletics during our school days. We get it -- athletics provide student athletes valuable lessons and instill pride. They provide a lifetime of memories, even if 99% of our children never play beyond the high school or tiny college stage. That said, it's still just a game. Busing students to Milford unnecessarily (or parents opting to drive 10 or more miles to take their kids to another school) is a tremendously silly drain of time and taxpayer resources. Just plain silly! DHS athletes will find themselves with considerably less time and energy to study and focus on schoolwork -- you know, the reason kids go to school in the first place? To make something of themselves? To be productive members of our society? So that they can get meaningful jobs and earn a decent living?
2.) Sports are still about the kids. Here's a reminder for some of you: It's not about the number of wins and losses; it's about ensuring the maximum number of Dorchester boys and girls who want to play, get to play. Period. If you have five DHS boys who want to play, you field a team. If they don't win a game all season, that's life in a small town -- and the ebb and flow of small school sports. Five years later, your team may be playing in the Pinnacle Arena for the state championship. In the meantime, don't deprive Dorchester kids the opportunity to wear their school colors and to represent the town in which they've been raised. Treat your kids as you would have wanted to be treated when you were their age. And remember: Lifelong lessons are learned even when you don't win all the time.
3.) DPS athletics are still about representing Dorchester. Some of our DPS parents have their loyalties all confused -- saying they prefer Milford, or Friend, or Crete, or Wilber. Well, we prefer Dorchester. And we bet your kids do, too. As we said above, if we can field a basketball team, we should field it here at Dorchester Public School. We should do everything we can to ensure that Dorchester kids who want to play get to wear the orange and black. Communities smaller than Dorchester have united when such issues have arisen; we should not let DHS athletics -- a source of pride for generations -- be a dividing point. Moreover, instead of threatening to enroll our child in another school, we should be teaching him the meaning of loyalty -- to classmates, to school, to hometown. We should be teaching our child to play for something bigger than herself.
Again, this blog urges the Dorchester Board of Education to reconsider its request for an expanded co-op agreement, which would forfeit at least two seasons of DHS boys and girls basketball.
We see little harm in waiting a year to re-evaluate the situation. But we see potential long-term damage if this decision is rushed -- and if Dorchester boys and girls are unnecessarily deprived of the opportunity to wear the orange and black.
I think that this is one of the best articles, the blog has ever written, they are saying everything that the parents of the children did say to the board at the meeting, which we all though they were listen to. I commend the times, for standing up our kids. I know that its a hard decision, and have nothing against the board, but us as parents are willing to see what happens, as the blog has mention. The numbers always come up. I have nothing against the other schools the blog has mentioned, I to am afraid of the potential damage if this decision is rushed, Please rethink the decision. As one board member said, dont you want to a winning team, and the kids response, we proud of ourselves, win our lose, as long as we give our best. Thank you Dorchester Times for sticking behind our kids, couldnt be more proud of this article.
ReplyDeleteSolid commentary. Ditto!
ReplyDeleteQuestion for the times staff or anyone else... Why did we let Football and Wrestling go? Why did the community not blink an eye when those activities went to Milford? The school was reactive with football after forfeiting games due to low participation mixed with injuries. Is the right action to be reactive instead of proactive? I would not want to be the one making that decision.
ReplyDeleteI'm not on the blog's staff and my kids are only in elementary at Dorchester, so maybe I should just shut up, but I will tell you that anyone who runs for a public office (school board, town board, county board or beyond) has to know that there will be tough decisions that will make some people upset. That's why so few people volunteer to run these days. I will also tell you that comparing the decision on football to the one on basketball is like apples and oranges. I am glad Milford accepted us and that we partnered with them. If we had not a handful of kids would not have been able to play football at all because there WAS NOT going to be a Dorchester team due to low numbers. You know that Anonymous. I've watched and played lots of basketball and football in my day, in Dorchester, and I've seen many, many, many seasons where the same five or six kids play the entire four quarters for DHS, even when there was lots of younger talent and deserving kids on the bench. You remember those days in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. There is rarely a serious injury in basketball, unlike football. If we have six or seven kids wanting to play basketball then they should play for Dorchester, like the blogsters said.
ReplyDeleteThis took some guts to write. Last time I saw anything so gutsy was from the guy who stood in the middle of the trailer park and yelled "Walmart Sucks!"
ReplyDeleteAmen...to this article
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100%. The numbers given by the administration at the meeting were not correct. We could easily have 10 boys out for basketball next year. If we go with Milford, the participation will drop way off. Leave the Basketball teams in Dorchester!!!
ReplyDeletePowerful stuff.
ReplyDeleteBeam me up Scotty!
ReplyDeleteWhat are people in town saying about the board's decision? I'm in Crete, but I went to DHS and I'm interested. Hope they can keep the teams at home.
ReplyDeleteWhen you're broke, like our school is, and almost every other school in America,you can't afford luxury items. Busing kids to Milford or Friend or Crete or Wilber is a luxury. Let me repeat for the thick-headed: we can't afford luxury items. Dorchester school board members need to have the power to say "NO!" It's a beautiful, powerful word that isn't used nearly often enough today, especially by parents.
ReplyDeleteHere's a radical, crazy, and yet logical idea: How about offering boys basketball and girls basketball here at Dorchester High. Yep, that's right ,,, where the kids actually go to school. If you don't get enough kids out, tough tookies. You don't have a team that year. For those kids who wanted to play, the pressure is on them to be leaders to get more kids to be part of a team. This is life. Live it. Learn it. And for gosh sakes, have the power to say "no." You can't do everything you want when you can't afford it or others don't want to participate.
You've got my vote whoever you are
DeleteI'll be honest in saying that when the idea of cooping basketball with Milford was brought up, I thought it would be good and make my daughter, Avery, happy. I thought all of the girls who truly love to play basketball will be able to play with other girls who also love the sport. I'll be the first to admit I was dead wrong. Avery wants to play ball with the same girls she has been playing with since 3rd grade. She wants to have a victory as a Dorchester Longhorn, not an Eagle. Diane wrote above how a board member asked a girl about just wanting to win. That girl was Avery and I was very proud of her response. She responded that she wants to play with her school teammates and if that means not winning a lot of games, so be it. If Avery and our family was more worried about wins and losses, our kids would be taking a right turn at the highway instead of a left turn. Bob and I chose for our children to go to Dorchester for a reason. We are twice as far away from Dorchester school as we are from Friend School, but wanted our children to go to a school that we believed in and thought was best for our children. If the school board decides to go against what I hear most community people want, it will be a sad day for many Dorchester Alumni, families, staff and students. Both of our daughters have played on teams that weren't bursting with numbers and they both agree that they survived, learned a lot of different lessons from it and would do it all over again. I can see where the next couple of years of basketball for the boys may be rough. Trust me, I've watched it with my own daughters. I am just afraid that if the basketball programs move to Milford, the girl's team numbers will significantly drop. I would hate to see this happen. Last school year I believe the girls had 7 players out and the numbers doubled this year. I think it would be a shame for those numbers to go back down again. I liked the message above about just saying No. Sometimes I think we don't say No enough because we are trying to protect or help or whatever the case may be. I hope that those people who have strong feelings about keeping our sports in our school, speak up. Let the school board members know how you feel and what your concerns are. I believe it is their job to listen to the people, so start speaking to them. My wish is that my other 3 children will continue to go to Dorchester and be Dorchester Longhorns and that I continue to wear my orange and black.
ReplyDeleteNicely put Julie.
DeleteSure would be nice if the blog, could hear from the board members, it would be nice to know, what they talked to milford about, concession, gate money, and using our neat gym for basketball games, if we do go with milford. There are alot of questions, that we are not getting answer to. I urge the board to step up and answer these question.
ReplyDeleteVery Nice Comment, Julie Behrens. It's stating the truth, and the truth doesn't hurt anything.
ReplyDeleteJulie made a great point. Let the school board members know how you feel. They are elected to support the wishes of the community. Don't sit on the fence with this issue. Call a school board member and let them know how you feel. If you feel strongly enough, call them all and then go talk to the Superintendent. I kind of feel this came up because of the administration and not the students or parent.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this informative article. My wish and hope is to keep basketball in Dorchester. I'm wondering if our board/administration is for closing down our school too?
ReplyDeleteA new school was built several years ago. It's a nice facility. Now the gym may not see very many athletic contests. How sad to see all that money spent going to waste. I am a proud DHS Longhorn alumni and supporter of tradition. If the kids want to play, let them PLAY!! If the numbers aren't enough to field a team one year, then there won't be a team that year. Maybe next year the numbers will be up. Children are our future. Let the kids speak (which it appears they have) and give them a chance. You win some, you lose some, that's life. I think letting the kids play is what they want and the school board should listen. Apparently, the school board needs hearing aids or they wouldn't have voted the way they did. Is there more to this story that went on behind closed doors?
ReplyDeleteSo I hear around that if the kids coop with Milford, they will transfer schools. If that is the case, then when the girls transfer out, they are now quitting the volleyball team as well, so I guess that means next year you want to coop volleyball. What's next, the school classes? might as well give milford the whole pie and shut the doors.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone else notice the Milford coaching staff at the game Monday night....wearing their purple shirts? That took some guts. I'm pretty sure they got an earful of what the majority of Dorchester citizens want because one young alumni told me that he said something to them. Wonder if they were asked to sign the petition? That would have been funny:) As you can probably tell, I am not for cooping basketball with Milford. Maybe Dorchester citizens should start sending the Milford school board letters letting them now we don't want this coop to happen. Maybe they will actually listen and decide they want no part of it! Happy New Year to all.
ReplyDeleteI'm writing my letter tomorrow! Who is else is with me?
DeleteIf we have enough kids to form a team, I agree that we should have our own Dorchester team, win, lose or draw. The only way I would support combining teams with Milford is if the only other option was to combine with Friend. Yuck. Then I'd rather have no team at all!
ReplyDeleteI would really like to hear from board members that voted for the coop of basketball. What are they thinking???? Do they want our school to die?
ReplyDeleteI am baffled by this seemingly sneaky merger. If we have enough players for a team, then what is the true reason for this coop??? I do not want to see an end to the rest of our Dorchester Longhorn teams or to our brand new school. What's going on??
ReplyDeleteThe next school board meeting is Monday, January 13th, unless the board is going to call a special session and not let the community know about it. I urge everyone who doesn't want the coop to happen to attend the meeting. It doesn't matter is you're a parent of a high schooler or preschooler, a Dorchester citizen or an alumni, just show up to support the kids.
ReplyDeletei would say keep your kids in dorchester as longhorns....i happen to be longhorn alumi...also currently reside in milford...i in the past have had problems with coaches from milford...they were playing their favorite varsity players on third string not even giving all the kids a chance to play...had to confront them to play the (whole season) benched players for parents night so they got to play 1 i repeat 1 game...how crazy is that to play varsity players on a jv and third string game...i would also hate to see your kid stake the extra time to come here, practice their hearts out n still be benched cuz they rnt from milford or dont have the right last name
ReplyDeleteThank you Dorchester Alumni living in Milford for stating this. My family also has heard from Milford residents that pretty much are saying the same thing as you. It's easy for our Dorchester board members and administration to say that a "good" coach will play the players that deserve to play. However, those of us who know "real life" know this is a false statement. Milford residents have also said they are not against Dorchester coming to coop, but it means one more kid who could take playing time away from their kid, and why would they want that when their kid doesn't get a lot of playing time anyway. I hope and pray that our board wake up and realize that most people don't want the coop to happen at this point. Thank you again for being honest.
ReplyDeleteUm, as one of the DHS alums who actually had to compete against decent competition to get a starting spot on a Longhorn basketball team years ago, tell me one school in America that doesn't have a bias when it comes towards which kids play. I'm all for DHS keeping its teams in Dorchester. That said I wouldn't be bashing Milford because of bias regarding who plays. That's been happening since high school sports were first invented.
ReplyDeleteThere have been one or two families who have threatened to move their kids for a couple of years now, one took their kids to Crete (good luck) and another to Friend (even more good luck to them). We should never be held hostage by parents who use their kids as pawns but at the same time I think the parents who are raising heck over this basketball merger are good people, leaders in the community who are right. Reverse the vote!!!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous -
ReplyDeleteWe have had six young men in our immediate family play sports, including basketball, for the Dorchester Longhorns. They will all tell you that the continuing benefit of their experiences lies not in the size of the team or the number of victories, but in the quality of the effort, the life-changing impact of working as a team , the strength and courage which comes only through facing extreme challenge straight in the face and moving forward, win or lose. The lessons learned are still serving these good men as they live their challenging lives today.
I did not have the blessing of attending a school where I could be a part of the Athletics Experience. I attended a larger school; and as a member of a Freshman Class of 65 students, I "was not good enough" to make the teams. I have always regretted that, although I had the intelligence, the desire and the need, I did not have the opportunity to grow stronger through the sports experience. I had to work harder in other areas of my life to learn the tenacity and bravery which is needed to meet the challenges of adult life.
We have excellent people working in our school. We have wonderful kids who want very much to do grow stronger and wiser and work together to prevail.
A couple of weeks ago, we watched the final moments of a very close, hard-played game in the Longhorn gym against a decades-long callenging opponent. A very young Longhorn player made a very good shot and won the game by one point with 4 seconds on the clock. That moment will live in the hearts of every fan and player, coach and official and opponent who saw it, including the young man who made it work.
It is not the size of the team or school or even the size of the community that makes us strong and active and proud. It is the love and respect we have for one another, as we work together, play together and live our lives as friends and neighbors.
ry.
Very touching. Thanks for sharing this.
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