Former Fairland BOE member says "Vote No" on Stadium Levy

[dragonsfan24]

In my opinion, to ask the voters in the Fairland Local School District to approve a $3.2 million bond levy to build a football stadium is misguided, inappropriate and flat out wrong. In this time of economic crisis (high food and fuel costs, home foreclosures, loss of jobs and huge losses in 401(k)s, mutual funds and IRAs), I am insulted that the Fairland Board of Education put this at the top of their agenda.

As a former Fairland board member, I voted "no" to even put the levy on the ballot, but sorry to say I was in the minority.

Just remember, before you vote, think about how much the levy will cost you. On a $200,000 home, the yearly increase on your property tax will be $79.62. But this is not just an increase for one year -- it's an increase for 27 years (the time it will take to pay the $3.2 million bond levy off). So, you will actually be paying a total of $2,149.74 more on your property taxes.

I have already voted, and my vote on the stadium bond levy was "no." I hope you vote the same way.

David W. Judd
Proctorville, Ohio

--ran in The Herald Dispatch, Friday, October 24

I find it a bit insulting and disheartening that an educator for so long who would "do anything for the benefit of Fairland students" would go so far as to encourage people to vote against this levy. while I realize that taxpayers in the district are still paying for a high school that at less than 5 years old is already sinking into the swamp it was built on (which is a whole other issue), the structure of Fairland Stadium (built ca. 1970) is not safe, and may be only a few hard winters before the cracks in the main bleachers (which are very visible from underneath near the restrooms, locker rooms, and Band Boosters concession) start to break away. Also, if I remember correctly, this levy would also provide renovation to the baseball and softball fields as well as building a concessions stand for those 2 facilities.

I realize that these are different times than when the school levy was brought up and passed, believe me, when I was a freshman the Citgo station beside the old high school (now FMS) said gas was $1.25/gallon, but our students ability to achieve has not changed. during my time at FHS, there was 1 year we do not have an 'EXCELLENT' rating banner for, and for the past several years.

I am here to encourage voters in the Fairland District to join me and vote ''YES'' for this levy. I believe that the students deserve it. They work hard in the classroom, and our state report card shows it (29 out of 30 indicators met -- only 29 school districts in the entire state scored a perfect 30 of 30), let's reward them with something other than a vinyl banner and a pizza party. We have some of the best schools in the state, so why can we not have some of the best athletic facilities in the state.

Please, support Fairland's 'excellent' students by joining me in voting "YES" for the Fairland Stadium levy on November 4.

Thank you.

[buckfan84]

I have no dog in this fight, but I do think that the voters should decide yes or no. For an elected official to not even give the voters the option is not the wat to do things, IMO. If the voters decide they don't want it then so be it. But, at least give them the opportunity to say yes or no.

[moty]

I have no dog in this fight, but I do think that the voters should decide yes or no. For an elected official to not even give the voters the option is not the wat to do things, IMO. If the voters decide they don't want it then so be it. But, at least give them the opportunity to say yes or no.

I agree

[madpolecat]

For an elected official to not even give the voters the option is not the wat to do things, IMO. If the voters decide they don't want it then so be it. But, at least give them the opportunity to say yes or no.

I disagree. If the stadium is to be part of the school -- not a community facility used by the school -- then it is completely right for the board to have the say in the issue. The board is elected to run the school system.

Personally, I love the nice new stadiums around the area. Jackson's Alumni Stadium is better than every stadium I played in in college. But on the flip side, $3.2 million is a lot of money that could be used on a lot of different things to better the school and community.

[NYBUX]

I would think that if you could afford to live in a $200,000 home, $79.62 per year would not really be a burden.

$100,000 would be $39,81
$50,000 would be $19.90

Heck with the house I live they may pay me if the levy is passed.

I, like others on this thread, have no dog in this fight, but I would think that better facilities would = more community pride, which would = more student involvement, which would = less youth on the streets. I would think of it as an investment in the future of the youth........

[boogerred]

I'll put my two cents in.

First of all, I agree that Fairland is in need of better facilities. But i do not think that it should be funded by a levy.

How many children play football at Fairland?

Better yet, what percentage of students at Fairland are football players?

For the student who does not play sports, what does this do for him? Is Fairland a place of education or is it a sports franchise?

How about bettering the science labs and classrooms? Are all of the classrooms equipped with SmartBoards?

What benefit does the refurbishing of an old stadium or building of a new stadium give the tax-paying citizens of Proctorville, especially if those taxpayers do not have students who play fgootball?

[fhsalum1991ah]

Have any of you besides Clayton been in that dump??

The opponent's locker room is smaller than a shoebox. The training room for the Dragon's is a joke. The shower's and restrooms are nasty and disgusting.

The coaching staff always does their best to ensure that it is clean and looks as good as possible. I'm surprised with the close confines of everything that there hasn't been more cases of Staph infection.

Furthermore, there are cracks in that stadium that are patched up every year. However, over time that wont suffice and that bldg will be condemned. It is so out of code and non-ADA compliant that one could file a lawsuit against FLSD and win rather easily.

It is time to allow for a new stadium to be built. These kids deserve it. They are in the classroom working their tails off. It's time we spend some money to give them a good/safe place to play football.

Furthermore, I can't every recall Judd coming down and seeing the lousy, nasty conditions of the locker room.

Just my 2 cents.
Allen Hager

[dragoncoach56]

Thanks Allen you are exactly right,while some work was done this year it is still putting lipstick on a pig to paraphrase our politicians. Just the odors alone warrent something being done but what needs to be understood is this will be a community facility. As much as possible facilitys for exercise(track) and anything else will be open to the public. Also all the activities(band,track,baseball,softball,football) stand to benefit greatly from this. We have one of the best gyms in our area and one of the worst stadiums. Our kids deserve better than this. And if you own a 200,000 dollar house you will pay less than a couple trips to golden corral for a family of 4. In my opinion this is more important than that. Money is tight everywhere that is true and the price tag now would have given us a lot more back then but gas was under 2.00 dollars then and everything has gone up so I am begging our community. Vote for this issue. Don't let personal feelings or vendettas get in the way of giving OUR kids what they deserve.
Clayton Dement

[coachb]

I used to be a part of the Fairland community. And I remember a time when the AD or someone would not let the community use the facilities. If it rained peewee football had to use the practice field for games. All gates were locked and no one was allowed to walk or run on the track. Have these rules changed? Will they change with new facilities. We used to go play softball on Sundays on the little league field. Now it's a HS softball field locked up so the "community can't use it. Clayton, we go a long way back you and I, and you can't argue FYFL was a cashcow for FHS, and still had to kiss A$$ to use the stadium. I'm not in touch with the "Fairland Faithful" much any more but my tax dollars will be a part of this project if it passes. The buzz I hear with the people I talk to is concerns about the BOE and the way some of the issues are being handled. I would not be surprised if this Levy gets voted down again.

[dragoncoach56]

Coachb yes these rules has changed. We have had complete use of the field no matter the conditions and are practicing for playoffs on them right now. The softball and baseball field I am not sure about. I do see people on them taking batting practice but don't really know how they got in. It's no secret that I'm not a board favorite or that I'm not crazy about a lot of their recent athletic decisions but I do truly believe this will be put forth as a community facility. As you and I know in today's society vandals hold nothing sacred so access has to be limited,even a hard a$$ like me knows that. As far as security on the place I don't have a good answer but I think the people of this community and the school will be able to work something out.
Clayton Dement

[shaynew]

I live in a 200,000 dollar house which i have paid for with my hard earned money.I also now live on a fixed income SS and retirement.So $79 may not be alot of money to some of you but its alot of money to people living on fixed incomes.I gladly voted for the school levy but i think this is a luxery item that only a minority of the kids will use.One would also have to believe that the public would be banned from using any of these new facilities.I do hate the logic that its only a small amount of money all these small amounts add up.If Its so small pass the same levy for extra police protection,Paid Fire protection,Free local health clinic,Help for the poor to pay utilities this winter i think all of these are much more important than a football field.

[madpolecat]

Well put, shaynew...

Does enough of the community -- as a whole -- benefit enough from the stadium to justify spending the money on the project?

[fhsfan]

I believe this levy will never pass. There are too many people living in the community who simply do not care about athletics (but that is another conversation). Without a new stadium, it is very easy to see that the school will be playing all away games in the very near future.

One, the stadium is no longer safe for people to use. I know I would not want my children dressing in and using the facilities. It will not surprise me in the least if the stadium eventually collapses....let's just hope no one is inside when it does.

Two, opposing coach's no longer want to subject their teams to the deplorable conditions. Outside of league opponents, why would anyone agree to come here and play? The visiting locker room does not even have a bathroom for teams to use.

Third, the facilities are used by more people than just the football team. I see girls and boys basketball, wrestling, band, track, cross country, dance team, community members, gym classes, etc....all using the facilities. I am guessing the number of people using the facilities will increase if a new stadium were built.

If for no other reason, a new facility needs to be built just for safety concerns. Then again, maybe we should not worry about that until something tragic actually does happen. I am sure a lot of the people against all of this would be the first ones questioning why something was not done to prevent the tragedy.

[dragoncoach56]

.One would also have to believe that the public would be banned from using any of these new facilities.I do hate the logic that its only a small amount of money all these small amounts add up.If Its so small pass the same levy for extra police protection,Paid Fire protection,Free local health clinic,Help for the poor to pay utilities this winter i think all of these are much more important than a football field.

And all have been voted down by people like you. I don't know if you have kids but if you do I'll bet you would be singing a different tune if they were young enough to still be involved. There are people out there who say that if you let the community use it it will be destroyed so there are arguments both ways. I am on a fixed income too and my house isn't worht 200,000 probably not 100,000 but this is assessed. There is a huge difference in that value and an appraised value of your home. If your house is assessed at 200,000 you would be hard pressed to make me believe you can't afford 79 dollars to give our schools a decent facility. I encourage everyone to vote yes on this it is not a luxury. But don't take my word for it. Come down Saturday Nov 1 and I'll give you a personal guided tour of the place and let you see for yourself.
Clayton Dement

[WitnessProtection]

From what I understand, most of the new stadiums around SE Ohio were funded with private dollars (donations), not taxpayer money. I know the Ohio School Facilities Commission does not allow its funding to go toward athletic facilities (except for gyms which must also be for educational use). However, if voters decide they want to use their tax dollars for that purpose, they have that right. That said, the folks in the Fairland district just might be opening up a kettle of worms that could come back to bite them later. Hopefully not.

[shaynew]

See Clayton thats where your wrong.I have voted for many tax increases in the Fairland school district.It doesnt make you a bad person for supporting it or me a bad person for being against it.That is why america is great we all are entitled to our opinions.If the community support is so great where is the private funding like others have done? Why cant the school board use the excess 3 or 4 million they have now for a new stadium? Yes i know the board put up 500,000 towards this.

[boogerred]

I agree; help the poor before you get a new stadium.

[sportsnut mom]

I agree that our stadium is unsafe and a disgace, but I've not heard any plans for restrooms/ concession around the softball/baseball fields. I also believe that the BOE could put more into it. In the past Fairland has been locked up like Fort Knox and I don't think the community has forgotten. I'd like to hear from someone who proposed this as to the details especially if I have been misinformed.

[duke]

If the community support is so great where is the private funding like others have done? Why cant the school board use the excess 3 or 4 million they have now for a new stadium? Yes i know the board put up 500,000 towards this.

The private funding used for many of these state-of-the-art facilities were provided through entities such as corporations or prisons. See any of those around Rome Township lately? I haven't because all of the land is being bought by people building $200,000 houses, (and higher), such as yourself. If you can't afford $79 toward a stadium that would be used by a variety of organizations, perhaps you should be placing your home on the market and looking for someplace a little less expensive. If you'd like to see the BOE making better usage of its funding, perhaps you should attend some board meetings and ask some investigative questions. They don't want to spend any money, including maintenance costs of organizations already in existence. It's really up to the teams / organizations to fund new uniforms, new facilities, or materials/equipment costs. The BOE will contribute start-up monies initially and that's the end of their support. It's as if they are controlling their personal bank accounts. Does the youth of our community deserve a stadium...ABSOLUTELY!! What would you prefer these kids to be doing? As far as the comment made regarding upgrading classrooms/equipment. Obviously things are okay there if the students are receiving excellent ratings.