BY MATT LINDSEY
North Country This Week

CANTON — Canton Central School’s Board of Education again discussed the pros and cons of offering a boys’ swim season.

Before a season could begin, board members were asked to approve sports mergers with nearby districts, and approve the hiring of coaches.

Autumn Brown read board members letters from parents who expressed their desire for school officials to come up with a safe way to offer their children a sports season.

School districts are trying to be cautious with spending as the state has threatened to without 20% of state aid. School officials stated that the state has already started to withhold funding as recently as last week.

Board members all chimed in about the safety and financial impact of offering boys swimming. All agreed that they want to be able to offer activities for students, but that the safety of all students and the community outweighed allowing a handful of students to compete in swimming.

The board voted on the motion to approve sports mergers for swimming with Madrid-Waddington and Potsdam Central. It ended in a 4-4 tie.

“The tie vote, by Roberts' Rules, means that the motion was defeated,” Burke said.

Other ideas to get kids active were offered, including intramural activities or strength and conditions sessions.

CCS Athletic Director Bill Porter told the board that the state is allowing coaches to work with students to hone skills and keep in shape in a socially distanced manner.

“What can we do with our students and student-athletes, because there are a lot of kids that are hurting right now – mentally, emotionally hurting,” he said. “I know this because I talk to a lot of people, a lot of people share things with me. I talk to kids on a daily basis.”

Local sports advocates have come up with a plan that they will present to SLC superintendents soon, he said. This would allow students to train, unwind and have interaction with other students outside of school in a safe setting.

The plan was shared with public health, Porter said.

Porter said he polled coaches and they said they would work with athletes without being compensated if it came down to it.

To watch the entire meeting, see story here.