Joe, again I know that this doesn't belong here, but my emails to you bounce back.
I was over on Onley Road earlier today and decided to check out the new Bennett High School. I noticed that they went a little overboard on building the tennis courts over there. Now I understand that a high school needs tennis courts, but they don't need to rival Wimbledon! They erected 6 athletic lighting poles with 10 lamp fixtures each to illuminate the 6 courts they built! Is that really necessary?
I did a little bit of research on what it cost to build these tennis courts:
$17,100 - (60) 1500 Watt Fixtures
$1,200 - (60) Lamp Reflector Visors
$1,170 - (6) Tennis Court Nets
$168,000 - (6) Asphalt Surfaces
$12,000 - (6) Aluminum Light Poles
$33,000 - 10' Fencing
----------------------
$232,470
Now granted, I got these prices off the internet, but I can't imagine that it would be must less; if anything it would have cost more. Plus you have to figure in labor! Regardless, the tax payers of Wicomico County just spent almost a quarter million on TENNIS COURTS! Salisbury University's tennis courts aren't even this nice!!
Now here's my big problem with these courts. Tennis is a Spring Sport-what is the need for lighting on these courts? There is plenty of daylight in the spring for practices and matches and when I was in high school, sports started promptly at 3:30 or earlier! There was absolutely NO NEED for lighting, but the BOE splurged with our tax dollars. This economy doesn't support this kind of spending-if they wanted lights then I would suggest that they run the wire and MAYBE install them when times are better or the school raises money for such an expense. I can only imagine what the football and baseball fields are going to look like! None of the other schools in the County have facilities like this, what makes Bennett High so special; because it's new? I don't think so!
People, listen! It is time to step up and get control of the County's spending; especially over at the BOE! They do things like this at their own discretions all the time. Just imagine all the frivolous spending that happens behind the scenes that we don't see. I can't believe that we actually let them get away with this stuff!
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
If this is true....ask Bill McCain about this tomorrow evening at his "solutions" meeting. Just this fact standing all alone...is reason enough to fire the superintendant immediately.....and justification to walk out of the meeting before he starts with any other topics.
ReplyDeleteGuess they haven't seen Wi-Hi's tennis courts lately. Top notch as well.
ReplyDeleteFirst, you are correct. They in no way rival Wimbleton. Second, since you got the prices "off of the internet" how do you have any idea at all what the real price would be?
ReplyDeleteWhy is it that public school constru tion has become an architect's attempts at am award??? Look at Salisbury middle. Big box, lots of windows. Why is that design not replicated across the country. Look at Stephen Decatur, why does a high school need a 30' tall glassed hallway down the middle. Yu wonder why our government is going down the tubes. each new project is compared tot he last, with each increasing in price as we go. We need a reset.
ReplyDeleteWho cares? It's not local tax money. If we don't secure it for our children, somebody else will!
ReplyDeleteIs this a mandate since building of other schools? Generally new construction is built according to gov't regs. Playing "Kick the Can" ended many years ago. Imagine the rules and regulations that would be attached to that in this day and time. Just asking.
ReplyDeleteBe thankful that it is just a tennis court for $232K...you could be a resident of Pocomoke where they are building a 1 million dollar turf field and stadium for the soccer and field hockey teams...how much of that money could have gone to improving other areas at the school
ReplyDeletedid you ask the county what was spent? or is this just a guess?
ReplyDeleteThe estimates are very close to what it would actually cost.
ReplyDeleteLook at it this way, at least its not basketball courts.
it's for the children-lmao
ReplyDeletehow about Wi-Hi's baseball field
ReplyDeleteoh that's right they don't have one yet.
does good tennis courts = smart kids? just asking
ReplyDeleteJUST WONDERING. WHICH SPORT IN OUR COUNTY BRINGS IN THE MOST MONEY?
ReplyDelete2:45 PM & 2:58 PM,
ReplyDeleteI got these figures from suppliers' websites. They should be reflective of what the BOE spent on the tennis courts-they probably actually spent more. Feel free to go get the cost from the BOE, I can guarantee you that they won't cough up the numbers or maybe they will even say that it was included in the construction cost and wasn't itemized.
3:24 PM hit the nail right on the head! What do tennis courts have to do with a good education?? The BOE is much more concerned about anything and everything that is not considered learning!
I bet that even though my tax dollars paid for those courts that I won't be able to use them either! I used to get barked off the old courts, just imagine the lock down they will have on the new courts! It just goes to show that our tax money isn't spend to better the county, it is spent so that the BOE can brag.
You all are some seriously crotchety people! When you were kids, did you sit around and play with oatmeal boxes all day or something? Kids today are too tubby--anything that will get them outdoors and exercising is ok by me, and I am a taxpayer.
ReplyDeleteTennis is not exclusively a spring sport. It is usually a fall sport for the women's team and spring sport for the men's team (or vice versa). I have attended many high school tennis matches that run late, past dusk. It would have been wonderful to have courts with lights!
ReplyDeleteStudies report that children active in sports and after school programs get better grades. Ask any high school principal.
ReplyDeleteI am a taxpayer as well and feel these courts are fine. Our schools should be top-notch inside and out. How can we give our children every opportunity when we bitch and moan about money for the schools? Give them the best.
ReplyDeleteConsider the number of students who will use these courts and multiply that by the number of years before they need major maintenance. Spending money on our schools is not a bad thing. For those who hate the BOE- choose your battles wisely. This may not be the best issue to use to have people fired or to make your point. There are other better issues to be disgusted about.
ReplyDeleteAmen 3:45, 3:50, 3:53 and 4:00....obviously the author did not participate in any athletic events when in school or currently. Athletics not only give students the opportunity to be part of a sport (whether track, lacrosse, tennis, football...whatever) but it also teaches them leadership, discipline and sportsmanship. Not to mention the college scholarships that can be obtained....yes even from this area many student athletes have gone on to college with help from athletic scholarships. Maybe you should take a look at some of the western maryland schools....they put even our newest schools to shame. Get a life and find something better to do! As my best friend would say, you'd probably complain about the color of your own urine if someone would listen!!
ReplyDeleteWho cares? What a tool. Good for the tennis team.
ReplyDeleteSchools only get redone or updated once every twenty years. Let them do it right. Twenty years from now, people will be saying what an eyesore that bennett school is...
ReplyDeleteSports should be eliminated from the educational system anyway.
ReplyDeleteanonymous 5:38 had to be Jonathan Taylor. All 500 pounds of him.
ReplyDeleteDespite lots of protest, there are no lights on any of the other practice/game fields at JMB... which won't even be built until BMS is torn down. There is not so much as a electrical receptical out there. There isn't even irrigation, the sports boosters are pulling up the water lines outside now to reinstall them on the 'new' fields.
ReplyDeleteAlso, this might not be a good day to go beating around the BOE about money. Rumor, the county is now talking about big cuts to education in next years budget... much more than previously anticipated.
The gears were turning today, but I don't understand the whole picture yet.
Unless and until this country comes to realistic terms of how we spend other peoples money, we truly live on the edge of failure. Many do not conceive that this country may fall. See "history".
ReplyDeleteCambridge has the most consistently good tennis program on the shore and their tennis courts are not near as good as Salisbury's,no outdoor lighted courts in the whole town. So money does not equal success.
ReplyDelete2:45, 3:45, 3:50, 3:53, 4:00, 4:05, 4:24, 4:25, 4:51 & 7:01,
ReplyDeleteThere is no need for extravagant atheletic facilities like this. Students can perform just fine on standard facilities. The point is that the BOE splurges with our tax dollars for very specific interests. These tennis court benefit a very few students in Wicomico County and not the County as a whole, but yet the all of the tax payers of Wicomico County have to foot the bill for this. Now don't get me wrong, every school needs tennis courts, but not at this caliber & cost! I'm going to go out on a limb here as say that you folks that agree with this frivolous spending are one of two types of people; either a parent of a student that goes to Bennett or a renter who does not pay taxes! You are also going to be the same people who complain when the revenue cap is repealed! You see, it's irresponsible spending like that promotes the need to repeal the revenue cap!
Jay Waggoner,
They do certainly do stuff like this all the time, but I'm not talking about building schools. The BOE spends more than they need to ALL THE TIME, but yet they are untouchable because it is "for the children." They don't have to be building a school to be spending poorly-look at their junkets, banquets and other ridiculous spending that shouldn't be on the tax payers' dime! Somebody needs to tighten the purse strings over at the BOE before it's too late; that is if it isn't too late already. Hopefully budget cuts come down hard on the BOE this year and you will see that students will be able to learn and perform on a budget just the same as they did when they break the County's bank!
If this was the county's money, it should have gone to improving Wi-Hi's tennis courts.
ReplyDeleteI've twisted my ankle 3 times playing on that court from the massive amounts of cracks all over it.