Messiah Lutheran Church would like to address the recent developments regarding use of our parking lots for drop-off and pick-up of Converse Elementary School students. Our intent is to clear up any misunderstandings that may exist and to reiterate our primary concern – the safety of the students. At the conclusion of the 2012-2013 school year, we were under the impression that our parking lots would no longer be needed by the school due to a new parking lot to be constructed on the south end of the Converse property. Due to a financial shortfall by the School District of Beloit, that lot never came to fruition. Just three days prior to the beginning of this school year, Church leadership was approached regarding continued usage of our parking lots. We agreed but asked that a formal agreement , between Messiah Lutheran Church and the School District of Beloit, be drafted to protect the church from any liability issues, and to define snow plowing responsibilities. The current draft of the agreement states that the School District will plow the lots if a snowfall is two inches or more, during the school year, at the time that the School District plows its school lots and the church will plow for its divine worship services on Wednesday night and Sunday morning. We negotiated in good faith for over four months. Last week, the School District of Beloit abruptly ended the negotiations and subsequently contacted the Beloit Police Department, asking them to prevent parents from parking in our lots. This action came as a total surprise to the congregation, as we felt we were close to reaching an acceptable agreement. The decision to not allow parents to park in our lots, and to have the police enforce that decision was made solely by the School District of Beloit without the knowledge or consent of Messiah Lutheran Church. Contact with the Beloit Police Department was made by the School District Safety Officer as directed by the district office. The police officers were told, inaccurately, that the church no longer wanted parents using the lots. This series of communications was investigated and confirmed by Rick Sears, Messiah Lutheran Church Elder. Again, this decision was made by the School District of Beloit. At no point in time did Messiah Lutheran Church intend to close our parking lots to Converse parents and families. It is our feeling that closing these lots creates traffic and safety issues for parents and students. Upon learning of the School District of Beloit’s actions and the subsequent safety issues it caused, we immediately contacted the Beloit Police Department to state our intentions of keeping the lots open, and to call off the police intervention. Since that time Converse staff has been policing the lots asking parents not to park there, again without the consent or intent of Messiah Lutheran Church. Again, our primary concern is the safety of the students. Therefore our parking will remain open and available to Converse parents. We remain committed to working with the school district in seeking a solution that creates a safe environment for the children, parents and staff of Converse school, while protecting all involved parties. Please email all inquiries to Elder Rick Sears at ricksears7@gmail. He will collect your concerns and bring these before the Church Council at our next meeting, scheduled for Sunday 1/26/14.
Posted on: Wed, 22 Jan 2014 23:04:18 +0000
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