William Dowd's column on "Lessons Learned" just barely scrapes the surface as to how sports programs in public schools drain valuable resources from school budgets.
A school sports program that costs $719,000 a year in the Mechanicville school district, a smaller school district than many, translates into more teaching staff, smaller class sizes, more computers in classrooms and upgrades to school facilities. You name it, we all know this money could be better spent on educating all of our children.
So we will hear the arguments of how sports builds character, teamwork, etc., but why is it all taxpayers in a school district must continue to fund programs for a minority of students? Also not mentioned are the costs of grounds maintenance that does not come from the sports budgets, but from the general operating budgets of a school district. How about the fuel and vehicle costs of busing students from event to event? In a time when "school districts keep their fingers crossed" when they put a budget up for vote, I believe it is time to look at sports programs more in line with the club model as in Europe. If you want your child to participate in sports, they can join clubs, leagues, etc. Parents who wish to have their children participate in sports can have their kids learn all about teamwork and character building in clubs, while schools are allowed to focus their time and resources on preparing all our children for college or career preparation they must have to compete in the world we live in today.
By the way, please remind Sen. Joseph Bruno that the taxpayers of New York know full well that $10,000 from his slush fund he donated for the fall sports programs at Mechanicville could have bought a full classroom set of new computers.
So much for priorities, I guess.
SERGIO DIANA
Schenectady
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий