Submitted by Cara Wells.
Ron Banner, assistant superintendent at the Clover Park School District walked into a meeting 30 minutes late on Thursday, September 16. The meeting was regarding the Lakes Cross County team’s annual Fort Steilacoom Invite hosted and held the following Saturday Sept. 18 at Fort Steilacoom Park.
He quickly declared the meet cancelled due to weather conditions and was unyielding to the outcry that followed. He claimed there would be five inches of rain that could cause the old oaks to fall on the runners, despite the fact that the forecast on the wether channel predicted a mere 1/4” precipitation.
The consequences of this last minute cancellation were devastating. Of course the entire Cross Country team of 50 students that prepared for weeks had to be notified that the whole thing was cancelled, and the varsity runners even abstained from the last meet in order to compete at this at the varsity level lost two track meets.
Numerous volunteers and equipment rentals were paid for in advance. Food trucks were ordered and ready to arrive, shirts were ordered to sell and still more were created and paid for to provide to volunteers with the date on them, medals were created and delivered, 90 schools from around the Pacific Northwest with over 3,900 runners, many had booked hotel rooms and transportation to compete…the list goes on, and all had to be notified two days before the invite that it all was cancelled because of 1/4” rain.
Something this rash has to have deeper reasons. The question is why was the single most important event to the Lakes High School Cross Country team cancelled two days before the event? It was to pay for all the seasons transportation and events, equipment and warmup suits, and a trip to the upcoming Sunfair Invitational in Eastern Washington.
How will the team come up with the money now? What’s the real story here Ron Banner?
Poor kids. 🙁 I hope they are able to get their funds.
Ron Banner is not held accountable at all by the current board. He does as he please, with zero consequences. The weather was worse Friday, yet sports carried on. The only way to turn things around in our district is to elect mew board members. We need people that will do their jobs and hold our superintendent accountable. Vote out the incumbents and vote for change. Our kids deserve better than this and being in the bottom 1/3 of the state academically.
Having had a varsity cross country runner at lakes I know first hand how important this meet is for supporting the team for the rest of the season! Mr Banner – in looking at the history of Cross country, football , soccer at Lakes – there have been many games where we stood in absolute downpours questioning – but the games / events played on! Even watching your son Zach play ! This is outrageous! The school district should anty up any funds the team needs to have a successful season! Imagine where your son or Izaik York’s would be today if there seasons had been limited by the district cancel due to rain in the PNW! Shame on you for a last minute decision
EXACTLY!!! — these kids have been training competing and – most likely – raised in WASHINGTON. It RAINS in Washington usually, during most of the school year! What a same this was for the community, athletes and the schools
True to form, Banner knows he’s running the show and does so without much concern for parents, families…..the real community……not just his hand picked “community members” whom for the most part are District employees. He doesn’t care much either for our elected, supposed to be representative, Board members either. They’re just there to warm their seats and little else. Where’s the Board outcry over this? Silence.
Want a responsive school district that represents academic excellence, community priorities and actually listens to what you have to say. Then elected David Anderson and Jeff Brown on 2 November. It’s the only way to change the trajectory of the Superintendent and a passive complicit Board.
Question? What is the liability to the City of Lakewood and to the Clover Park School District if they sponsor an an outdoor event during or immediately after a wind storm and an athlete gets injured from falling branches? Did they cancel due to an abundance of caution for the safety of runners and spectators? Cross Country isn’t held in a treeless stadium or under a roof. Does racing under old trees after a storm sound the same as playing on an open field in rain, wind and snow?
Question: Did the City have ample time to check the safety of the XC route? Were they able to check the trees?
Question: Did they make the decision to cancel so quickly in order to give the other school districts enough advanced notice?
Question: In today’s world, is there anyone who believes our City and/or school district would not be sued if someone was injured?
My son ran XC in this district. The meet that was canceled was a huge disappointment for the participants and supporters. I hope some type of fundraiser can be held to make up for the money that was lost. I believe that liability issues were at stake. A tough decision was made. Not everyone will be happy nor satisfied with any explanation.
Sorry for the cancellation, but I would think safety would be most important. Other local activities were also cancelled such as the Friday Market and the Lakewood Celebration. The forecast indicated thunderstorms, lightening, wind and warnings to secure outdoor furniture and other property. The weather is often unpredictable and can change for good or bad.
Nonetheless, what a disappointment for the kids. Please let people know if you are taking donations or alternate activities and perhaps our community can turn this around.
I would fire Mr Banner immediately!! He did this on speculation. I personally ran through Steilacoom Park Saturday on ALL the trails. A branch could at anytime fall on a walker, dog, runner, etc. During the dry months, after a storm, after heavy rain, whatever. That is life and an act of God. I could had slipped on wet pavement or wet grass. But I didn’t and if I did, it was on me, the runner. Maybe an idiot would sue but no sane person. Yeah, he needs to be removed on the next election. We don’t need people with that mindset in his position.
As I understand it, it was a budget issue involving someone being upset about the amount of money spent to order portable bathrooms for the event. If there is any truth to this, and the Clover Park School District is lying about the reasons for cancellation, then they should have to refund the sports fees of every athlete that was robbed of the opportunity to take part in an event that was canceled and cut their season short. There were almost 100 teams that suffered from a decision that they are not being honest about. Again, If this decision was not safety related, and they are lying about it. someone needs to be fired and every athlete from every team involved needs to be fully refunded.