MATES Students to Southern Board: 'Let Us Compete for Scholarships'

Southern Regional Board of Education members heard from several students and parents of both Southern and MATES schools at the meeting last night on a policy change enacted last summer that prevents MATES students from applying for scholarships through Southern Regional.

Sharon McKenna, who has one student  at MATES and two others in the Southern system, said she felt "like the seniors are getting the rug pulled out from under them."

McKenna joined a chorus of parents who said the policy should have been voted on and enacted three years from now. She urged the board to consider distinguishing between academic and community scholarships, since, she said, the MATES students are precluded from applying for community scholarships because of the policy.

Several students noted they could not even apply because they could not access the application because they did not have access to the Southern computer system.

"The only mechanism he can go to get community scholarships has been cut off,"" McKenna said.  She said she's faced with a dilemma in terms of guiding her youngest child. "Should I tell my youngest son, go to Southern for the community scholarship money, or should I tell them to go to MATES because you may get an academic scholarship?"

John Kaszuba, who is one of the scholarship donors, said: "There are a lot of benefits of attending MATES. As much as I understand their concerns, I  support the fact that I want the money that I helped to raise go to Southern Regional students. They are not graduating with the black and gold, they are going to totally different schools, so I have to rise in support of the board, you can't make exceptions."

Several students themselves were also in attendance, and voiced varying opinions about the board's decision last August, with some praising the decision and others criticizing it.

Two petitions to the policy were placed into the record.

Board member Stuart Snyder said the "board wants to set up a dialogue ... and will listen to any comments that were given and address them."