Manchester's Odyssey of the Mind Finalists Need Money to Compete

Three student teams – two from  and one from – recently earned the right to move on to the 2012 Odyssey of the Mind World Finals in Iowa at Iowa State University. The finals take place May 23 through May 26. Manchester competed against 180 teams from various schools throughout the state of Connecticut.

During Monday's Board of Education meeting, parents of the OM students learned that the Manchester School District will not be financially supporting any part of the trip to the  Odyssey of the Mind World Finals. To hear that was disheartening to say the least, especially knowing all the incredibly hard work that was put in by the students. Teams had worked together from the beginning of the school year two to three days after school each week and then seven days a week leading up to the state competition. Mr. Lee and Mr. Parker of Illing and others have volunteered a great deal of their personal time to prepare and guide students for this year’s event. Their commitment has been extraordinary.

The dilemma of Manchester having three teams qualify for the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals and the school district not funding the students begs these questions – why does the school system have a program that it won’t follow through on? The cost to send 21 students to OM finals is in the neighborhood of $30,000, $14,000 of which is due shortly. Does the district really think parents can afford that out-of-pocket expense? Wasn’t there enough foresight by the school system to know that these expenses were a possibility? Does it make sense to offer an enrichment program to students who do exceedingly well at it and succeed only to inform them last minute that there’s not enough money to finish? In essence, the message being sent is, “this program doesn’t matter.”

Here are some of the line items from the school budget:

TUITION-PRIVATE $1,798,098
STUDY HALL MONITORS $124,816
CONSULTANTS $356,091
SPORTS OFFICIALS $49,999
FIELD & ATHLETIC TRIPS $152,340

I find it hard to believe that we can pay $350,000 dollars for consultants but can’t find one dime to pay for students to represent Manchester in such a positive way? The Henkel Company in Rocky Hill sponsored the state finals this year. They see the value of investing in students that participate in critical and creative thinking. Cory Wry, a businessman and restaurant owner in Manchester, understands the value as well, donating a portion of sales to the OM program. How is it that the Manchester school district doesn’t see the value in this?

We are committed to excellence in teaching and learning.

We strongly value each student’s capacity for high educational achievements.

The mission of the Manchester Public Schools is to engage all students in the highest quality 21st century education preschool through graduation.

The Manchester Schools mission statement touts a commitment to excellence, certainly a great goal to strive for, but in stating such lofty ideals should follow through and not make those words ring hollow.

This letter was submitted by Manchester resident Ed Johnson. Got a letter you would like to submit to Manchester Patch? Email Editor David Moran.