Future of local Boys and Girls Club remains uncertain (2024)

The future of the local Boys and Girls Club remains in limbo with its operation currently closed as club administrators continue to look for a new location. Club leaders appeared before the Yazoo County Board of Supervisors this week, urging the county board to offer their assistance and influence in the search for a new building.

“We have been really hopeful that we are going to find a building right here in Yazoo City so we can support our young people,” said David Dallas, Chief Executive Officer with the Boys and Girls Club of the Mississippi Delta. “We are not a daycare center. This community does not need to let the Boys and Girls Club go away.”

The Boys and Girls Club of the Mississippi Delta was chartered and first established in Yazoo City in 2007. But now the local club, whose charter mission helped create at least six other locations in the Delta region, was forced to close its doors last February due to the hazardous conditions of its building.

The local club was housed at the former Yazoo City Junior High School building since its opening in 2007. But the doors are now closed as a search for a new, more suitable, location is underway.

“We were at the community center for a number of years,” Dallas said, to the county board. “The building is unusable right now. We have not had a gym in about six years because the gym roof fell in. We have 25 children who come every day, and they are religious about it. But we could be serving a lot more children in a much larger space.”

Dallas said club administrators pursued two possibilities in relocating the club: one at the National Guard Armory and at the former site of Webster Elementary School. He added that the Webster school building was an ideal location thanks to its inclusion of a gymnasium.

“We thought we would be able to get the Webster building through the school district,” Dalla said. “For whatever reason, the school district has other ideas for that building. We are looking desperately for a place to house our club. We would love to have a space where the children could play outside. A gym or basketball court would be good for our teens. We need our young men in the club, and we could give them an opportunity to play the way they like to play.”

A potential lease agreement between the Mississippi Achievement School District and the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Mississippi Delta limited the usage of the Webster building. According to the agreement, the Boys and Girls Club would only have access to the kitchen, cafeteria, six classrooms and two restrooms. The school district would control the gymnasium, a computer lab classroom, the library, and three other rooms.

It has been openly stated in public city council meetings that the city school district intended to use the gymnasium as a bus and equipment storage area.

Gregg Giles, Executive Director of Operations with MASD, told The Herald last February that the MASD acknowledges the valuable services that the Boys and Girls Club provides to children in the Yazoo City community.

“While the District remains open to further discussions with the Boys and Girls Club based on the conditions that were presented, it is important to note that the District must retain the use of certain spaces within its leased facilities to meet the specific needs of the District,” Giles said.

“I would love it if the Yazoo County Board of Supervisors could put some pressure on the Yazoo City Municipal School District,” Dallas said, during Monday’s county board meeting. “If they are not using Webster to serve children, I would like for us to be in that building, the whole building. They are using that beautiful gym with its beautiful hardwood floors and a stage as a bus barn. That floor is going to deteriorate quickly.”

John Wallace, who serves on the Boys and Girls Club of the Mississippi Delta board, said the absence of a local club is detrimental to the community.

“If we don’t do something about these kids now, you guys are going to have to deal with it later on,” Wallace said. “The program is such a good program. (Local Director Judy) Ables brings the kids in and keeps them off the streets. Right now, we don’t know where they are because we don’t have them.”

Ables said the club serves about 25 children in the spring and fall seasons. But that number increases to about 60 during the summer months.

“These kids have no place to go,” she said.

Supervisor David Peyton said all parties need to meet to find a possible solution. He added that he is a member of a community engagement council with the city schools, adding that perhaps he could investigate the matter.

“We all need to be at the same table and have a discussion to find a solution,” Peyton said.

Dallas said there has even been a discussion on the Boys and Girls Club building a bus barn for the city schools, provided the club could utilize the Webster building.

Supervisor Joseph Thomas Jr. said he is willing to help in any way, but he added that the upcoming transition with the MASD being converted into a District of Transformation with possible new leadership could develop into something.

Club administrators and county leaders said a meeting with all parties, including the city council and school officials, needs to be arranged to discuss some options. Dallas said he would initiate such a meeting.

Did you enjoy this article?

Clickhereto view this author's last article orhereto see all of their content.