Currently, any Dayton middle and high school student in good standing can be admitted to Dayton Public athletic events at the school where they are enrolled for free, and any district-sponsored event at Welcome Stadium. The student needs to present a DPS ID and an athletic pass.
The board members who proposed the policy, Dion Sampson, Will Smith and Karen Wick-Gagnet, are on the athletic committee. The policy was added to the agenda on Tuesday, Nov. 21 about half an hour before the meeting started and at least two board members said they had not gotten a chance to review it before the meeting.
Sampson said the policy came after school administrators expressed concerns about the number of people who typically attend winter basketball games and the mix of both Dayton Public and non DPS students who attend.
Board president Chrisondra Goodwine said any conversation about safety should extend beyond athletic events.
But the members who proposed the idea objected to the idea that the administrators felt unsafe.
“None of the administrators stated that they feel unsafe around their kids,” Sampson said.
Goodwine said the policy sounded like DPS was saying it didn’t want the district’s own kids on district property.
“It is punitive to individuals who do not do what they’re supposed to do daily, and they show up for this and it’s taken away,” Goodwine said. “It’s one little incentive we were able to give students who are enrolled in this district.”
Wick-Gagnet said the school board should still listen to the concerns of the administrators before the basketball season starts. The boys’ first games are on Dec. 1 and the girls’ first game was Nov. 22.
Mario Gallin, a former DPS board member who still attends meetings, said she had concerns about the policy during public comments. She called for the board members to table the discussion until the public could add their own feedback.
“I think that would be a policy that people would be interested in learning about and possibly commenting about before the board votes to approve,” Gallin said.
The board will meet on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at 136 S. Ludlow St., Dayton to discuss the policy.
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