The director of a Neptune-based camp attended by black and Hispanic children says they were subject to restrictions not imposed on white children enrolled in the county's own camp
Campers outside Monmouth County's Fort Monmouth pool on Aug. 9Courtesy Timber Washington
Monmouth County recreation officials say they are ending a practice at a county pool at Fort Monmouth that treated children in subsidized recreation programs differently than others, after a camp director said the practice effectively discriminated against African-American and Hispanic campers.
The three-year-old policy had placed restrictions on what could be brought into the pool area and the use of a poolside basketball hoop for children in programs subsidized by the county's Recreation Assistance Program, or RAP, which was established in 1985 to assist camps and other programs whose young participants were from mostly low-income households.
County officials released a letter sent Wednesday to the Neptune-based camp operator, Dr. Kimber Washington, offering an apology and explaining the reasoning behind the restrictions, which prevented subsidized campers from bringing their towels and other belongings into the fenced-in pool area, and from using the basketball hoop.
The letter, dated Aug. 15 and signed by Monmouth County Superintendent of Recreation Patti Conroy, states that all children will be able to bring their towels into the pool area and use the basketball hoop, whether they are enrolled in the county's own day camp program at Fort Monmouth or an independent camp that pays the county to use the facilities.
"I sincerely apologize that your summer camp had an unpleasant experience," Conroy states in the letter. "An outing to the park should certainly be a fun and memorable experience and if we have fallen short in providing this for your group, then it is my job to make improvements wherever we can."
"Once their pool time begins, children are certainly welcome to bring their towels with them as they enter the pool area," the letter continues. "Regarding the basketball hoop, I have instructed Fort Monmouth staff to provide this to our visiting groups."
Washington said she was encouraged by the letter, which was largely consistent with a phone conversation she had with Conroy. But Washington also said she will reserve final judgement until Thursday, when her two dozen K-8 campers return to Fort Monmouth for the last time this summer before heading back to school.
"We'll see what happens," said Washington, who runs the camp for elementary school-age children out of the Little People At Work pre-school she operates in Neptune.
Conroy's response was prompted by an Aug. 9 letter Washington had sent her, copied to the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders and to NAACP chapters in Freehold, Neptune, Red Bank, Asbury Park and Lakewood.
"I am writing to express my concern about the discriminatory practices experienced by my students and staff at Fort Monmouth pools today," Washington's letter begins. "I suggest you modify this situation immediately."
Washington, a retired New Brunswick public school teacher, said she learned of the policy earlier that day from a pair of county recreation employees at Fort Monmouth after her campers had gone there to swim.
Washington said one of her counselors called her to say the group had been told by a lifeguard to leave their belongings in a gazebo outside the pool area, and that the guard had taken away a basketball that campers were playing with. Washington also said the counselor told her the lifeguard had spoken harshly to the bewildered campers.
White children enrolled in the county's own camp based at Fort Monmouth were not subject to the restrictions, Washington said.
Washington said she immediately went to the pool herself, where she witnessed the lifeguard, who was actually a recreation supervisor, toss a ball to a group of white campers after she had taken it from Washington's campers, a group made up entirely of black and Hispanic children.
Washington's camp is based out of the Little People At Work independent pre-K school that she founded in 1994. She said the camp is open to all elementary-school age children, but it draws primarily from African-American communities in Neptune and Asbury Park, and this summer's campers are all black or Hispanic.
"I think it's racial, I think it's neighborhood," Washington said of the true reason for the restrictions.
Washington's camp does receive RAP subsidies, but she nonetheless pays the county $5.50 per visit, per child to use the Fort Monmouth pool complex.
Washington said the lifeguard and another recreation supervisor at the Fort Monmouth pool told her the restrictions had been imposed three years earlier on RAP groups after some had been unable to control their campers' unwieldy behavior.
She said the supervisor, whom she knew only as "Jim," told her he was sorry her group had been lumped in with others, but he nonetheless defended the restrictions as justified.
Washington said she found the supervisor's response unacceptable, and argued that individual camp groups should be held accountable individually for their campers' behavior.
Washington said she was also disappointed by an initial response from Conroy, before she sent the Aug. 15 letter.
"Her first response to me on the phone was that perhaps we could look lnto another pool where my campers would have a more pleasant experience," Washington said.
Conroy's assistant director, Andrew Spears, emphasized that Washington's campers were never denied access to the pool, and that Washington had mischaracterized Ms. Conroy's reference to another pool.
"Patti Conroy mentioned to Ms. Washington that beginning in 2019, there would be a second pool added to our field trip offerings, one at Big Brook Park in Marlboro," Spears wrote in an email. "The reason Patti thought that this would appeal to her is that we have added archery, a zip line, climbing wall, and a nature trail at Big Brook. We have none of these amenities at Fort Monmouth. Patti also explained that Fort Monmouth would still be available."
Washington said she appreciated Conroy's apology for her group's treatment at the pool that day. But she said she was looking to prevent similar unfairness from being imposed on any group. "This isn't just about my campers," Washington said. "Its about all campers."
Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook