After listening to concerns from the public, the Board of Education (BOE) is considering taking the plunge and forming a boys and girls swim team at Guilford High School (GHS). While plans for a swim team are still coming together, Superintendent of Schools Paul Freeman spoke to the BOE on Jan. 9 to share his vision for a new team.

GHS currently does not have a swimming and diving team, but rather has an arrangement with Branford to allow GHS swimmers to join that team in a limited capacity. Guilford girls compete on the Branford team as a “team of one” (something of a misnomer as three girls have participated on the team of one). They are allowed to practice and compete with the team, but cannot score points during competitions. For the boys, Guilford and Branford have co-op team (including Guilford’s Corey Gambardella, who competed at the Olympic trials this past spring) on which athletes can score points.

Interest around forming a swim team has been circulating for years, but Freeman said he has seen a real uptick in interest this year. Parents and community members came out to the first budget public hearing in fall 2016 and have sent many communications to the BOE imploring them to consider forming a team.

“When the community comes out and makes a compelling argument to say there is something they want to see in their school system, I do feel it is my obligation to make every effort to do that,” he said. “It will ultimately be the board’s decisions as to whether right now is the time to expand into something new.”

While the final decision may rest with the BOE, Freeman included a proposal for a boys and girls swim team in his 2017/2018 budget draft presented to the BOE on Jan. 9. Within the proposal, Freeman suggested forming a boys and girls swim team if a minimum of 10 athletes participate on the girls’ team and 10 on the boys’ team. To cover costs, the team would be formed under a pay-for-play arrangement, similar to hockey and rowing, with the BOE covering the cost of coaching ($6,000) and families of athletes picking up the rest of the tab.

Freeman estimates the overall cost of the program would be $24,000, leaving parents to cover $18,000. A larger number of students would result in lower bills for each family.

“There are other expenses associated with swim teams beyond the cost of a head coach,” he said. “This would launch the program with the expectation that costs beyond the head coach would be borne by the families of the students that participate in that activity in a pay-for-play structure.”

Swimming includes additional cost such as renting pool time, transportation, and cost of hosting home meets. Freeman said he understands it would be expensive for families, but also said it is a place to start the conversation.

“It is a way for the board to put a toe in the pool before making a full commitment to the swim program,” he said. “It is a way to be responsive to the community, but it is also a way to be responsive to the fiscal situation that we find ourselves in now.”

During the presentation, some board members raised concerns over the growing number of programs at the school that place some of the financial burden on students who choose to participate. That includes specific athletic programs, but also the Advance Placement and International Baccalaureate courses that require students to pay for final exams if they choose to sit for them. Freeman said he shares that concern and the school does have vehicles in place to help students and families who want to play but can’t pay.

“The difficultly in expanding structures like the ones we are talking about is we can only help students when we know they need that help, which means families need to let us know, families need to speak up, and that is difficult,” he said.

Other details, such as where the team would compete, will need to be worked out before a team can be finalized. Neither GHS nor the town have a pool—an issue that was hotly contested back in the mid-2000s when a group, Swim Guilford, tried to bring a swimming complex to Bittner Park. With no pool in town, Freeman said surrounding complexes are being considered.

“I think there are a couple of different options and I think one of the places we would like to be able to consider would be the Y in Branford,” he said. “It would be the most likely and I think the most convenient and makes the most sense for a lot of reasons. There are multiple school systems in Connecticut that don’t have their own pools and do host home events in rented spaces.”

To view the Jan. 9 budget presentation, visit guilfordps.org. The first 2017 BOE budget public hearings will be held Monday, Jan. 23 and Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. at Elizabeth C. Adams Middle School, 233 Church Street, in the Chorus Room.