Editorial: Supt. reveals plan for community program at schools

On May 23, after hearing resident Reg Ion ask about letting the community use the high school swimming pool it paid for with tax dollars, School Supt. Pete Kudlak said he has been thinking about community use of the district’s buildings.
He said last week he met with Van Buren Township on a different subject. He referred to signing the agreement on the township’s lease of Haggerty School for a temporary senior center as construction work progresses on their present building.
Supt. Kudlak said he has had a lot of meetings with VBT and learned they don’t really have a community education department. He said people sign up for private classes and the township gets a percentage of what they pay.
He said most schools have community programs, but he didn’t want to step on any toes with VBT. But he doesn’t have to worry. He said he is looking into programs such as floor hockey, art, entry-level sports, really-young soccer, finance, community policing, adult computer classes, photography, and whatever else they can think of with staff or others teaching. It would cost parents money, he said.
“It’s a great way to get community members into the buildings.” It would be more organized than just renting out the rooms the way they do now, he said. He didn’t say “pool,” but it looks like there’s hope for community use of the pool, after all.