Should Waterford Subsidize The Boy Scouts?

Representative Town Meeting member Atul Shah thinks Waterford should stop subsidizing the Boy Scouts.

“Some of these organizations actively discriminate against members of society,” Shah said, referring to the Boy Scouts. “Does the town really want to subsidize organizations like that?”

The Boy Scouts do not allow openly gay people in their organization. Earlier this year, the organization considered lifting its ban on homosexual scouts, while still refusing to allow gay scout leaders, according to The Washington Post.

Meanwhile, Waterford’s Board of Education charges organizations a fee of $39 per hour for the first hour and $19 per hour after that to use a room in any town school, according to Recreation and Parks Program Coordinator Kerry Sullivan. One of the few exceptions to that charge is the Boy Scouts, who use the town's schools often, Sullivan said.

Shah questioned why the town would give a break to the Boy Scouts, considering their position on homosexuals.

“In 2013, we should be beyond discrimination,” Shah said.


Should Waterford continue to subsidize the Boy Scouts? Or should the scouts pay the same rate as any other organization that wants to use the schools?