America is supposed to be about liberty, growth and opportunity but some members of the Raymond  School Board do not appear to see it that way.  
They seem to relish in their omnipotent position of control and think that they should tell parents, student athletes and coaches what is best. 
An informed populace is essential to protecting our rights collectively and individually. This is an attempt to inform the citizens of Raymond of what policies their elected officials are supporting.  
The issue is concurrent sports enrollment or giving the student athletes the choice to participate in more than one sport in a particular season.  
This is an issue that was recently voted on by the Raymond School Board.  Two board members, Mark Hatfield and Jason Dunsmoor supported the measure stating that:

"1. The parents are on board; time management, grades, sleep, etc. are parental, not board decisions. The parents and the students will live with the consequences (positive & negative) of decisions of this nature.

2. This would also allow additional opportunities for students.

3. Both directly impacted coaches (wrestling and basketball) are on board.

4. Other coaches (though not unanimously) have also voiced support" 

Three members Beth Stevens, Karen Johnson and Pebbles Williams were the Raymond School Board Members who gave the impression that they know more than the coaches, parents and students by voting against this opportunity for student athletes.

Why would any board member want to close the door of opportunity and learning for our children? These board members are trying to close this door of opportunity for my son and for all the students of Raymond.
This idea of dual sports enrollment was originally suggested to my son by a coach. The suggestion was that he participate in both basketball and wrestling. Both the wrestling coach and basketball coach wrote letters/statements giving their support.  As basketball is more a team sport and wrestling primarily individual, my son was not going to miss anything in basketball and only pursue wrestling as it was possible with his time outside of basketball. The wrestling coach expressed his opinion that even having extra wrestlers to practice with would be helpful to the program.

My son has shown that he has the ability to manage his time and balance his responsibilities. He has the support of the coaches involved and his parents. Why shouldn't he be given the opportunity to realize his potential by participating in two sports?
There are so many bad influences out there. I don't understand why some board members can't support our children in the good things that they are trying to pursue?

Heather Hamilton,

Raymond, Wash.

Editor’s Note:This article first appeared on www.hometowndebate.com 12/20/13. If you would like to respond to this story go to hometowndebate.com