Safe Kids, Smokey Air and Empty Buildings

Like much of the United States, Northern Michigan had "Hazardous" air quality last week. When the smoke from Canadian wildfires started clouding our blue skies, our 3-kids were participating in the amazing Norte Bike Camp, where kids and counselors bike all over our city, visiting the library, every park and beach and eating sack lunches in the sun. Our kids love Norte camp - they get to exercise with friends without even realizing they are exercising and they are exhausted at the end of the day. It's a win for kids and parents alike. Norte had to make the difficult decision to cancel camp because of the air quality (a safe, smart and sad decision all at once) so parents and kids had to pivot. Pivoting was happening all over our community, not just at Norte, as the normally gorgeous summer activities, focused solely on being outside, were not available (and not safe).

Where do our kids go in the summer when they need to expend all their kid energy (and get some needed exercise) but they can't play outside? The YMCA has been a cornerstone for our family since we moved here 10 years ago, and its indoor sports courts have become increasingly important as our kids have grown. We're excited about the long-overdue expansion and renovation at the Y, but the current courts will be closed for at least the next year while construction is underway. So, with no YMCA to turn to, where else can families go to burn off energy? While we love the new Dbats Indoor Batting facility, Elev8 Climbing Gym, or Altitude Trampoline Park, the price for these spaces just isn't accessible to all families in our community, and certainly not on a regular basis.

I have been thinking long and hard about this question, because I worry too many families turned to screens because of the lack of indoor facilities for our youth. Indeed, our family saw Toy Story 5 and the new Moana movies during the hazy days of last week - we were right there with everyone else on screens! But, we do have a possible solution. There are buildings in our community that are sitting vacant all summer and that are paid for by our tax dollars - TCAPS schools. Why aren't we better utilizing our school buildings for the sake, safety and health of our students all summer long? We should be having pre-planned open gyms every single day of summer and partner with organizations who provide free summer lunches (they provide these at the library, so why not at a TCAPS open gym as well?) so we know kids are eating and moving their bodies. I'm not proposing a daycare setting - there needs to be parental supervision and liabilities need to be considered. But, giving our community one more open, accessible place for families to play (that they already pay for and are currently sitting vacant) seems like a no brainer.

As I think about the kind of School Board member I want to be, I plan to ask questions. And one of my first questions will be, how can we use our TCAPS buildings better for our kids and make our community safer and healthier even when school isn't in session.