Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit has put off until March a recreational youth basketball program’s request to play Saturdays in school gyms. In person and on YouTube and Zoom Thursday night, Jan. 14, the board favored the tabling 9-6. Superintendent of Schools Howard Tuttle said a reopening committee’s plan that helped get students back in school five days a week this school year led the district to keep outside groups out of the buildings.

“No Boy Scouts, no PTA events, and this has been very upsetting to some people (but) we were doing the best we could to try and keep our staff safe.” Tuttle said if the board decided to let recreational basketball in, he would reconvene the committee of about 45, which included many staff members, “and assure them that, ‘Don’t worry, you’re still safe.’” With the tabling later, Tuttle said he would get the reopening committee together to plan. “Who knows, maybe by March perhaps the (pandemic) numbers will be down.”

Alna and Westport Island each split on tabling. Westport Island’s Richard DeVries was a no and Mary Coventry a yes; Alna’s Doug Morier a yes, Kristina Verney a no.

Speaking for the program and against tabling the request, board member Ryan Carver of Windsor said children would play three on three, temperatures would be checked at the door, parents would be kept out and volunteers would disinfect surfaces between groups.

The program would give younger students some “normalcy” like middle school age students are getting on school teams, Carver said. 

The board rejected recreational basketball in December and was open to a relook if pandemic conditions changed, Tuttle recalled. Proposing the tabling, Chair Sandra Devaney of Palermo cited that day’s 800-plus new COVID-19 cases in Maine. Tabling until March would allow time for planning, and for COVID–19 training, she said.

“The number of cases are so high right now ... I’m not saying you guys can’t play. Find a different facility ...,” Devaney said. “I’m not saying I don’t want rec sports to happen. My parent hat says I would like these kids to play basketball. My school board hat says that I want my kids to be in school five days a week for education. That is more important to me right now.”

“It’s our tax dollars that pay for these schools,” Carver said. “The RSU promised not to take the gyms away from the youth in the community.” 

“But that was before COVID,” Devaney said.

Also Jan. 14, Tuttle said more students are back in school. In September, 18%, or 179, were remote learners; now 10%, or 106 are, he said. “So a lot of people are feeling safe to come back to in-person, which is great.” He said some teachers now have no students learning remotely.