Schools

Insurance, Pay-to-Play, After-Care All Issues in Drama Club Case

Board of Ed discusses several options for Eisenhower group.

With having brought back its eliminated drama club through its PTO, some are wondering why has not done the same.

“I thought the PTO had set aside money for a teacher stipend,” Jodi Hopfinger, of Hughes Road, said at the Feb. 8 Board of Education meeting. “But then they couldn’t do it because of insurance money.”

The issue of paying for workman’s compensation and liability insurance seemed to be the one sticking point as the board discussed possibilities for bringing the drama club back to Eisenhower Intermediate School.

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The club was first brought to the board’s attention several months ago when fifth-grader she had had signed by more than 100 classmates, asking for the reinstatement of the club that was cut through the budget. Schulz’s mother presented a petition she had also created through which parents said they would be willing to pay for their children to participate in the club.

But the board is still mulling over its options.

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“If we bring back that club, we have to offer to bring back all of them,” said board member Lynne Hurley, who is also a member of the finance committee.

And as for pay-to-play, Hurley said the committee is looking into the option, but is also waiting to hear what will happen with state aid when the governor announces his budget in February.

“We have to go back to the drawing board to discuss,” she said.

Hopfinger said she had heard that Hillside Intermediate runs the drama club through its after care program, and questioned whether that could be done in Eisenhower as well. She acknowledged, however, that because the after care programs are privately run, Eisenhower may not have the same resources to offer the same programs.

Hurley said bringing back several of the extracurricular programs had been part of the discussions when the district introduced the idea of bringing the after care programs in-house.

“But that idea is off the table for now,” she said, referring to the decision the board made not to look into the possibility of taking over the after care programs unless the district found it would be receiving less state aid than last year.

And in general, Superintendent of Schools Michael Schilder said, he is not opposed to the district taking on the responsibility for the play.

“I’m not opposed to the board taking this on, but it should be done in a methodical way,” he said. “And if we do this, do we sweep in other organizations, like intramurals?”

The biggest concern discussed was that of paying for insurance, and the decision the PTO at Eisenhower Intermediate made to not want to pay for that.

“The PTO budgeted for a stipend, but there’s also liability insurance,” Schilder said. “I think Hillside has not purchased additional liability insurance.”

That is why it is easier for the PTO at Hillside to offer the club and afford it, Schilder said.

“The PTOs fund their own activities,” board of education member Evan Lerner said. “Hillside is doing without the workman’s compensation money.”

Schilder said there are some PTOs willing to take the risk and do without the funds for liability insurance, but not all have agreed to that, and that may be what’s holding back the Eisenhower Intermediate PTO.

“Some are willing to handle it and not worry about the insurance,” he said.

Members of the board said they would not necessarily be opposed to the PTO taking on this kind of club, and that if the organization chose to do so with its own money, that would be the group’s own decision.

“If the PTO donates the money, we shouldn’t turn it down,” board of education president Jeffrey Brookner said.

And Hopfinger said she believes this is an issue that should not be ignored because the students are missing out on an opportunity to take part in an important organization.

“The play is something important that the students don’t get elsewhere,” she said, adding that, in the past, there have been a total of 85 students involved in the production. “But I had heard someone say they would bring back the play and student council if anything.”

The board said there are several options to consider, including the after care issue and the possibility of offering the club as pay to play, as it has done with activities in the high school. But for now, it is looking to focus on the budget and wait for state aid numbers before making any changes.

“I wouldn’t ask the board to put aside the budget for now,” Brookner said. “I think this is an issue we would like to see some thought and effort put into. And it doesn’t have to be the same in all schools.”


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