Sussex-Wantage denies amendment to allow homeschoolers in sports

SUSSEX BOROUGH — The Sussex-Wantage Regional Board of Education on Dec. 21 denied a policy amendment that would have allowed district homeschooled children access to public school athletic programs.
As with the Nov. 30 first reading of the amendment, board member Ryan Coyle championed the amendment with board member Steven VanNieuwland seconding the motion. Board President Robert Heiden, Vice President William Bolella, and board members Susan Fields, Susan Langan, Amber Simons and Kenneth Nuss voted against the measure.
The Nov. 30 discussion of the first reading of the amendment also ended with a 2-6 vote, however, some members who voted "no" mentioned a willingness to reconsider their viewpoints should homeschool parents make their voices heard. As a result, four Sussex-Wantage district homeschool family representatives spoke on Dec. 21.
Wantage homeschool parent Allison Orsi questioned the "line of division between us (public school and homeschooled children)" which the current policy enforces, stating, "We need to ask 'is this policy doing what we are intending?"
Additionally, in response to prior board concerns regarding the impact of such a policy change, Orsi reported that seven Sussex County districts allow homeschooled children to participate in public school athletic programs and that resulting participation remains very low (for example, Frankford experienced one homeschooled child taking advantage of the allowance in the past 16 years.)
Wantage homeschool parent Jessica Lawlor spoke to her childhood experience with eight siblings who attended both public and private schools, reinforcing her point that homeschool families aren't against public school, but that it is not a choice for everyone. In response to board concerns regarding cost, Lawlor suggested charging homeschool families a yearly participation fee commensurate with the amount public schools receive from the government per student for extracurricular activities. Lawlor also countered board member concerns regarding a potential decrease in school spirit with anecdotes from her child's experience with moving from public to homeschooling, during which time public school extracurricular instructors (unaware of the policy) begged her son to continue participating.
Wantage homeschool parent Adam Hamer reminded the board, "We pay taxes.", and, "Our kids are a part of this community." Hamer reiterated Lawlor's point that there are "many different reasons" why families choose to homeschool, arguing that such a decision should not result in an extracurriculars ban on the children.
Joseph Dragon, 19, and former district homeschooled student, pointed to his middle school experience being allowed to participate in athletics while being homeschooled. Dragon shared that without such opportunity, he wouldn't have succeeded in cross country, winning a full scholarship to a Division 1 school for which he now runs.
"It breaks my heart." said Dragon in regards to homeschoolers being denied access. Dragon's younger sister's request to join the district's middle school cross country team prompted the board's revisiting of the policy.
During board discussion of the amendment, Bolella raised concerns regarding the administrative burden which attempting to measure and enforce homeschool academics standards might entail. Coyle pointed to Orsi's statement regarding homeschool participation levels, stressing that administrative work caused by one participant would "hardly be a burden" but for that child "it means the world."