Scouts face recruiting hurdle in Scott City

Cub Scouts are scarce in Scott City this year. Only four students in grades one through five have signed up, about one-fifth the usual number.

Dave Remley, chairman of the Shawnee District of Boy Scouts, blamed the low numbers on the Scott City School Board's decision not to allow the Scouts to recruit in the classroom during the school day. At last week's school board meeting, representatives from the Scouts asked the school board to reconsider its policy.

Scott City is the only school district in the area that doesn't allow recruiting in the classroom. Last year, the school board and Scott City Elementary School principal Courtney Kern looked at their policies regarding permitting solicitors on school property.

"When you lay down the policy for one, you have to lay down for everybody," Kern said.

It's hard, Kern said, because sometimes personal beliefs go up against school policies in these positions but the administrators have to abide by those policies because of the law.

She says the only thing the school has not allowed the Boy Scouts to do is go into the classroom and talk to a captive audience.

The schools have offered to let the Scouts set up a table at the football games and post fliers on their community bulletin boards.

"It's a matter of changing our focus because this has been such a reliable recruiting method for so long," Remley said. "We weren't quite ready to give up our traditional methodology."

The Girls Scouts of America faced the same problem. But Denise Stewart, executive director of Girl Scouts of Otahki Council, said they changed their recruiting strategies and have been successful.

The Boy Scouts passed out fliers to younger students as they were getting on buses in the afternoon. Students are more than welcome to distribute fliers for their organizations as long as it does not take away from instructional time, Kern said.

Kern said the school has tried to work with the Boy Scouts and that having students distribute the fliers was a step in the right direction. Remley doesn't agree.

"If you have a 7-year-old recruiting a 5-year-old or a 6-year-old, there are going to be a lot of dropped balls. It's that simple," he said.

The Scouts are in discussions with the school board and Kern to try to find a compromise.

ameyer@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127