Character Counts at District 112

The question remains whether the park board recognizes that turning over West Ridge Park to the school district would be inconsistent with its mission and responsibility to the neighborhoods it serves, or whether we’re witnessing a negotiating strategy.

Either way, 112’s threat to prevent the use of school playing fields and facilities for park district ball games and camp programs is mean-spirited and unbecoming behavior at the expense of the many kids who participate in park district programs, and shows little regard for the welfare of these children and the community at large. The intergovernmental agreement in question doesn’t belong in these or any other negotiations, and should simply be extended for the benefit of all parties in the community as a matter of course.

Does 112’s commitment to the district’s children end when the school day ends? Let’s hope not. Yet District 112’s threat calls into question the decisions and judgment of a school board and administration who are willing to use kids as pawns, a means to an end in a negotiation. The school district’s use of children as leverage shouldn’t be tolerated regardless of how the West Ridge Park issue plays out.