BUILDING FOR SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY - Kennedy Bibliothek

94. The objective of the programs is to;provide recreation opportunities
for all ages. And co-operation between the public schools and the
Recreation Department is close without formal ties. Gymnasiums and arts
and crafts areas are used by recreation programs in all the schools during
non-school hours free of charge. The Recreation Department only pays
custodial charges. In the choice of the groups who may use the schools in
Mount Holly, the Recreation Department is given first priority. In
addition to renovating the Community Center and providing it with new uses,
Plucinski also initiated two playgrounds on school sites in low income
areas, a 33-acre park (with federal and state grants) and the rehabilitation
of three existing parks. The Recreation Superintendent sees himself as a
designer of alternatives. His priority is to provide for leisure time
activities and civic groups. Radical political or religious groups, however,
are excluded from use of the Community Center.
9'5. The programs initiated in the Recreation Department in Mount Holly
today attract 48,000 users per year or about 4 800 per month. The program
is more recreation centered than the Wharton program. The 1975-76 Fall/
Winter Program featured sports and games, a fine-arts program, special
activities, and regular meetings in the center for teenagers and the junior
high center. After-school activities to supervise boys and girls are
arranged three afternoons a week in the Center, and the Bridge Club, Chess
Club, Table Tennis Groups, and Special Recreation for the Handicapped meet
once a week. Senior citizens have their own clubroom.
96. Mount Holly, in contrast to Wharton, has invested and changed its old
school to fit new programs and needs. It proves that carpets and colour,
new kitchen and toilet facilities, plus additional furniture and equipment
create a suitable environment for community clubrooms, offices, and meeting
spaces. The two examples also show that both the Board of Education and the
municipal government are capable of supporting recreational programs.
However, since such programs generally come under the municipal responsibilities,
the Wharton case, in which the center is run by the Board of
Education, will remain the exception rather than the rule. In view of the
large number of new examples, it seems that the community/school movement
in the United States has weathered the federal freeze on construction and
economic decline, partly through innovative use of existing and empty
facilities.
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