Looks Like Another Year at Star Hill for MHS Indoor Track Team

After discussing the matter briefly as part of its meeting Monday, the Board of Education seemed to come to a decision about its policy regarding the Manchester High School Indoor Track Team – and that was that it doesn’t seem inclined to changing that policy anytime soon, to end the team’s longstanding tradition of practicing and competing in the school’s hallways.

Athletic Director Lindsey Boutilier appeared before the school board Monday evening to give an update on the high school’s indoor track program, , but after giving a brief rundown of steps the school and the program could take to improve participation, confusion seemed to seep into the meeting.

It appeared as though the board was waiting for Boutilier to offer a recommendation as to whether he thought barring the team from practicing and competing in the school’s hallways was hurting the program, while Boutilier said he was waiting for instructions from the board about what to do with the upcoming winter season – either again book , or allow the team to return to the school’s hallways.

“I am waiting for definitive direction,” Boutilier said. “And until then I am planning on moving on as of last year.”

Board Chairman Chris Pattacini then asked Boutilier when he would need that direction by, and Boutilier said that he thought the decision should have been made already, to avoid the same uncertainty that affected the team last year during the first few weeks of practice when it was unclear if they would be allowed to continue using the school hallways for practice.

“In fairness to the athletes and coaches, the decision should have been made already,” Boutilier said. “That’s what happened last year, and it feels like we’re going down that same road again. It’s just not fair to our kids.”

Pattacini said that he did not feel the decision was the board’s to make.

“From my standpoint, this is an administrative decision,” he said. “I think we need to let the administration take the lead on it at this point.”

Superintendent Kathleen Ouellette was the one who recommended to the school board last December that the team no longer be allowed to practice in the school’s hallways, and she indicated during the meeting that she had no intention of changing her stance on the issue.

“The board felt that this was an administrative decision,” she said when asked about the subject toward the end of the meeting. “We would continue to come up with a schedule for Star Hill and that would be presented by the end of the week.”

In other matters Monday, the school board formally established itself and Patricia Brooks, Assistant to the superintendent, finance and management, as the search committee to select an interim superintendent for Ouellette, who has .

“We are engaging in the first step toward finding a new superintendent to replace Dr. Ouellette,” Pattacini said. “The first step is to find an interim superintendent, which we would like to move as quickly as possible on.”

Ouellette’s last day with the Manchester school system will be Oct. 28, but the board has indicated it could release her from her duties earlier if an interim replacement could be found in a timely manner.