SOUTHWICK – Kyle Reyes of Silent Partner Marketing published an article on his website, The Whiskey Patriots, on Sunday about his displeasure with the Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District’s handling of, and policies for, scholarships for graduating high school seniors.
The central focus of the article by Reyes was to continue his disgust with the school committee not accepting two scholarships that his company offered to seniors at the regional high school.
Both valued at $750, one of the scholarships was for a student going to a trade school or college, and the other is for a student joining the military. The latter $750 scholarship would help that individual cover the costs of travel expenses when returning home to see their friends and family.
According to the Reyes article, he and his fellow employees at Silent Partner Marketing sent out “dozens” of emails and phone calls before they were told by the school district that approval of the two scholarships would be voted on at a school committee meeting this past May.
Kyle Reyes speaks during the community portion of the VFW pre-dedication ceremony in May. (WNG File Photo)
A week later, on April 25, the Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District informed Southwick VFW Post 872 that Reyes would be uninvited as a guest speaker at the veteran’s memorial foyer dedication ceremony on May 21 at the regional school. VFW Post 872 spearheaded the veteran’s memorial foyer in the regional school to help honor veterans who had attended the Southwick, Tolland, or Granville high school and were killed in combat or in a hostile attack while serving their country. There are currently four service members being honored.
According to Troy Henke, Chairman of the VFW, Superintendent Jen Willard told him that the administration didn’t feel comfortable with Reyes speaking to the students at the ceremony, due to some of his political positions possibly making some of the students feel unsafe or unincluded.
Reyes, a 2002 graduate of Southwick High School, said that the speech that he was going to deliver to students and faculty at the regional school was to specifically center on the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and about his experience of being in class when the news of the attacks came out and the effect that had on him personally.
Despite not being able to be a guest speaker at the Southwick Regional School, Reyes was a keynote speaker for the veteran’s memorial dedication ceremony that VFW Post 872 hosted on May 13.
Reyes claims that after continued attempts to reach the school district to find out if a decision was going to be made on the scholarships, no answers were given to him from the district.
This summer, Willard informed the Westfield News that the school committee has recognized that there is no policy for accepting scholarships and that one would need to be created before thinking about accepting any outside scholarships including the one offered by Reyes’ company, Silent Partner Marketing.
Superintendent Willard and members of the School Committee would not comment to The Westfield News but did issue the following statement on Monday afternoon:
“The decision to accept or reject proposed student scholarships rests with the Southwick Tolland Granville Regional School Committee. The Committee is in the process of adopting a standardized policy for evaluating proposed scholarships. Once this policy is approved, the Committee will review all pending scholarship proposals and respond to the soliciting person or organization accordingly. In the meantime, the Committee notes that nothing prevents individuals or organizations from providing students with scholarships independent of the Committee’s authority and ceremonies, and in fact many local businesses generously do so currently.”
While the Select Board doesn’t oversee the school committee Select Board Chairman Joe Deedy did give his thoughts on the situation.
“Everyone has a difference in opinions,” said Deedy. “The school had their reasoning behind it and it is what it is.”
