Boundaries felt in athletics

Recently, board member Ellen Ayers and her husband told us in a letter to the editor that we all needed to move on regarding the boundaries. This is very easy for her to say seeing as she was one of five people that voted in favor of Plan C. I like to think back to the comments that Jim Gelbmann made when he said he couldn’t support Plan C because it created two schools of “haves” and one school of “have nots,” or something to that effect.

This is already being felt in the athletic arenas. East Ridge, a school with no seniors, has already defeated Park in volleyball, swimming, tennis and girls soccer. East Ridge did lose to Park in football by two points in a game that East Ridge failed on in three extra point attempts, and in boys soccer by a close score of 1-0.

This summer we will probably see the results academically when the state test results are released. Park’s scores will more than likely dip, while East Ridge’s score will be well above the state averages. This is what happens when you remove some of the newest and more affluent neighborhoods in Cottage Grove and combine them with similar neighborhoods in Woodbury.

The Park girls soccer team, one of Park’s most successful programs over the last few years, has lost in the section championship in shoot-outs to go to state. This season, Park finishes in the bottom half of the SEC conference and loses its opening round playoff game while East Ridge, with no seniors, advances all the way to the state tournament with Woodbury. Boundaries or just coincidence?

“High expectations” for all, “realistic expectations” for two out of three ain’t bad.

Heather Franck

Cottage Grove

Tags: letters from readers, opinion