Target Shooting Name Sparks Controversy in Sharon Springs

SHARON SPRINGS — In an age where school shootings have tragically become an all-too-frequent occurrence, a resolution allowing a team in the New York State Clay Target League to use the Sharon Springs name prompted some fairly intense discussion at the Monday, Sept. 9 school board meeting.

In the end— despite the expression of several concerns and misgivings— board President Helen Roberts, Vice President Christine Cornwell, and members Sofia Issa, Brandi Kerber and Rose Chase voted 5-0 to approve the resolution and allow the name lending for the third straight year.

League events are held not on school grounds but at a local rod and gun club, and the permission to use the name is virtually the only association between the school district and the Clay Target League, explained Superintendent/Building Principal Thomas Yorke and Business Manager Anthony DiPace. Having a school name for the teams is a requirement of the league, they added.

"The feeling is that it creates a sense of community for kids who don't participate in other organizations and activities at their schools," Yorke said. "It creates camaraderie. To my knowledge, everything has gone well with the league. It's an organization that supports the safe use of firearms. The concern, especially in the light of recent events, is that any mention of firearms in the same sentence as schools can be upsetting to people."

The Sept. 4 deaths of four people at Apalachee High School in Georgia was the latest in a decades-long list of school shootings across the United States.

DiPace said before the vote he understood the concerns and that it was up to the school board to weigh all the factors and decide, which it did.

"Our policy has always been to keep them at arm's length," the business manager said. "We allow the use of the name and that's it. I haven't heard anything that says it (league) has been bad. Everything I've heard has been positive. So far, it seems to be going well and some kids have been able to connect on a different level they were not able to with the activities here."

Cornwell said she had definite reservations, despite her eventual yes vote at the end of the discussion.

"Given the socio-political climate, I just feel like I'm being pushed into a corner and I don't like that feeling," she said. "There's usually a slippery slope involved, and I'm sliding down and I don't realize it until it's too late."

Kerber said she had concerns that any student who possibly had a propensity to misuse guns or for bad behavior, in general, could have access to guns through participation in the league. Yorke said there are policies that cover how any Sharon Springs student who fit that characterization would be dealt with.

Yorke explained all students participating in the league must pass a hunter safety course and meet other safety requirements. Chase added she would like to look at the policies of the Clay Target League.

Renee Bade, a grades 8-12 math and computer science teacher in the district and treasurer of the Sharon Springs Teachers Association, spoke up in favor of granting permission to use the name.

"The kids there are loving it," she said. "All the coaches make sure the kids are safe with everything they do. They are into the (target) shooting. They excel. I only have positive things to say about it."

After the meeting, Roberts was still expressing significant misgivings about giving permission to use the name, despite her yes vote.

"I understand it's a very good program but my feeling is that guns and school just don't belong in the same sentence," she said.

In other news from the Sept. 9 meeting, board members welcomed three new teachers who attended the meeting and were introduced by Yorke. Rachel Ferreira will be a home economics teacher at the middle school level, grades 7-8, and will be instructing students on how to write checks, cook, sew, and many other skills. Certified as a career technical education teacher, Ferreira's instruction will also touch on animal science and other areas, Yorke explained.

Isabella Warner will be chorus director for the high, middle, and elementary school choruses and also teach general music in grades K-5. Jamie Wilber will be a K-12 art teacher.

In personnel moves at the end of the meeting, the board approved Richard Kendle as the boys' varsity soccer scorekeeper, Erica Vickers as a full-time equivalent elementary education teacher and Emma Drake as a substitute teacher.