Statement on Outdoor School

Click the image to watch the video of my statement.

Heartbroken.  That’s how I’m feeling.  I bet much of Carroll County feels the same way.

Since Wednesday evening’s BOE meeting where the vote was taken to end the overnight portion of Outdoor School, I have been feeling sad.  This was supposed to be a “fun week” in celebration of the last day of school and the start of summer break.  Instead, it feels like a cloud is over us, a nagging that something is off.

I have tried to force myself to look at the bright side – that they will reconfigure Outdoor School into a day program.  That it didn’t just get cancelled outright.  But my high-school age son just shook his head and said, “No, Mom.  It won’t be the same.”  That nagging feeling is wondering if it will prove to be too logistically complicated to be a day program.  What about the locations, the buses, the costs?  What if something can’t be figured out?

I never attended Outdoor School as a student, but I have come to understand how important this program is to our community.  My kids were fortunate to attend it, but I feel a sadness for those who will not get the same experience.

There are very few things left in the world that people feel such a strong positive connection to.  Very few things that generations of people in a community speak so fondly of and get excited about.  As I speak to people and read the tremendous outpouring of comments online, I cannot help but think a piece of Carroll County died with that decision.  It is indeed a collective grief that we are feeling.  A beloved program fundamentally changed overnight without warning.  And we didn’t even get a say in the decision.

That’s perhaps why I have this nagging feeling of sadness.

It’s wrong.  It is wrong to make this type of decision without having a conversation with the public about the concerns.  Last spring we showed up in numbers advocating for Outdoor School and for increased funding when it was on the chopping block.  We, as a community, showed up because Outdoor School is near and dear to our heart and it was worth fighting for.  I have come to see that Outdoor School unites Carroll County.  In this world that we live in now, those things that connect us, that give us purpose and help shape our identity as a community, those are the things we value the most.  Those are the things to fight for.

I’m frustrated with the lack of transparency about this decision.  While I understand they cannot disclose sensitive information, the lack of any information on the published BOE meeting agenda indicating any vote or major change to the program is unacceptable.  No details were discussed about all the risk mitigations they considered or the costs.  No information on how other school systems are able to run overnight programs was presented.  All of the discussion seemed to have happened prior to the meeting.  They presented their case and did a vote to end the overnight Outdoor School.  Done.  And so dies a piece of Carroll County if we let it.

If I’m elected to the BOE, I can’t promise that I have the power to bring overnight outdoor school back. But what I can promise is that I will do everything in my power to ensure that decisions as important as this are made transparently and with clear communication and meaningful public input. Too many families have felt shut out of decisions that directly impact their children, and that needs to change. The community deserves a BOE that listens before it acts, welcomes public engagement, and treats transparency as a responsibility. Trust is earned through openness and accountability, and rebuilding that trust must be a priority if we want a school system that truly reflects the values and voices of the people it serves.