Schenck, Stearns parents support sharing plan

MILLINOCKET – With a son who attends school in town and sees doctors and a dentist in East Millinocket, T1 R9 resident Ramona Cesare spends a lot of time playing taxi driver.

It was worse, Cesare said, before her two daughters graduated Stearns High School. Then she had all the driving she does for her son times three – plus dance classes.

Yet it was with considerable pride that Cesare told the Union 113 cooperative school board Tuesday night, “My children have never been late or missed an activity.

“Nobody has to worry about traveling between communities,” Cesare said Tuesday. “It can be done every day, and it’s done by me.”

Cesare was among several parents, teachers and coaches who advocated sharing student arts and sports offerings between Schenck High School of East Millinocket and Stearns High School of Millinocket. Of the 55 people who attended the meeting in the Stearns library – almost entirely Millinocket residents – none spoke against the notion.

All said sharing offerings would enrich students and help keep programs afloat.

Given that the schools are heavy, if not bitter, sports rivals, Millinocket School Committee Chairman Thomas Malcolm expressed surprise that more residents, particularly from East Millinocket, weren’t opposing the idea.

He expects more opposition when the East Millinocket, Medway and Millinocket boards meet March 21.

The most strident opposition to sharing, Stearns teacher Kris Vigue said, comes from parents who grew up with the rivalry, not from children. A survey of students that drew a 95 percent response rate at Schenck and an 88.5 percent response at Stearns showed considerable support for sharing sports and arts offerings between the schools.

In all, 143 students from the schools expressed interest in pursuing sports or arts even if it meant practicing at another school.

Some of the numbers, Superintendent Sara Alberts said, are slightly fuzzy, probably a bit high. Twenty Schenck students expressed interest in participating in more than one seasonal activity, such as cross country and football. Thirty Stearns students voted that way.

She and the cooperative board stressed their interest in expanding student opportunities, not eliminating teams or opportunities. Facing declining school enrollments, the schools might eventually need to combine efforts to keep teams and arts offerings going, they said.

Some sharing already occurs. Two Schenck students play in Stearns’ jazz band. Students also indicated interest in offbeat school activities, including dodge ball, rugby, dance team, lacrosse, paintball and video games.

Seventeen students at Schenck, which has no gridiron team, indicated interest in playing football for Stearns, but several coaches and parents indicated that they were not considering sharing resources to bolster the football team.

Football, golf, cross country, soccer, track and field, fall cheerleading, field hockey and ice hockey are the sports not offered at both schools that could be bolstered by sharing, board members said.

“We need to offer all of our kids every opportunity, whether they want to go out for band or cross country,” Millinocket parent Connie McManus said. “The more they learn to work together, the less trouble we are going to get.

“It will cost us a lot less in the long run for this than to bail these kids out of trouble.”