High school sports are a pointless waste of money. Taxpayers should not fund teams that only SOME children can play on. Most athletes who are going places are going places due to their clubs- very little recruiting occurs from colleges via high school athletics. If the School Board cancels school sports they will save money on:
1. Equipment
2. Field maintenance
3. Transportation (gas, maintenance,drivers)
4. Electricity
5. COaching stipends

All of that money can then go back into the school systems, teachers can get raises, and the vacant field can provide revenue by being rented out to local clubs.
If the school board doesn't at least look at this solution, it shows that their priority isn't education. Keeping your educators happy and motivated should be the primary concern, not parents whose kids won't get to play on pointless teams.

This presumes there isn't explicit educational benefits to students who participate in sports, including development of discipline (attending practices and sticking to a schedule), teamwork, managing a schedule, competing in a respectful manner. Not to mention how these sports bring the student community together through tie-ins with cheerleading, band, dance team, etc...

Yes, not every kid qualifies for varsity, but likewise, not every kid qualifies for band, drama, orchestra, math competitions, etc...

To paint sports as being purely non-educational implies a very strict (and limited) definition of what education is.

You are taking a narrow view from Fairfax County. In other parts of the state that are more rural there are no clubs and high school sports are the only game in town. It would be really dicey to try to take away sports from some counties and leave them intact in others.

By the way, one of the disadvantages of huge high schools is the opportunities to be on a varsity or even a jv team. A high school with a few thousand students has the same size team roster as one with 500 students. There are only 11 people on a football field at a time hence smaller schools provide more opportunity to play sports, or band, dance teams, drama, etc.

Some of those costs are not going away. They will simply be shifted to other budgets. For example many school athletic facilities are also used for PE classes. Others are used for community athletic events, including in some cases club sports. Your taxes really don't know whether the field they are paying for is being used for school athletic programs, school PE, or for parks.

Also a portion of those expenses are paid from athletic fundraisers rather than taxpayer funds.

Once you back these out then high school athletics consume a very small amount of funds.

HOWEVER if the standard is that the school system should not be paying for programs that only a small number of kids are permitted to participate in, then let's apply that across the board. That would mean de-funding TJ and elementary and middle school GT programs.

Bill.N. Wrote:
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> Some of those costs are not going away. They will
> simply be shifted to other budgets. For example
> many school athletic facilities are also used for
> PE classes. Others are used for community
> athletic events, including in some cases club
> sports. Your taxes really don't know whether the
> field they are paying for is being used for school
> athletic programs, school PE, or for parks.
>
> Also a portion of those expenses are paid from
> athletic fundraisers rather than taxpayer funds.
>
> Once you back these out then high school athletics
> consume a very small amount of funds.
>
> HOWEVER if the standard is that the school system
> should not be paying for programs that only a
> small number of kids are permitted to participate
> in, then let's apply that across the board. That
> would mean de-funding TJ and elementary and middle
> school GT programs.

TJ and GT meet extreme academic needs, just like Special Ed. No difference. Just opposite ends of the spectrum. Sports are extra-curricular.

I don't have the figures, but I would venture to say that at least 60% of high school students are involved in some type of club, sport, or organization through the school. Studies have shown that student who participate in these types of activities achieve at a higher level in school. Since a majority of students utilize these activities and the kids that participate are more likely to achieve academic success, I'd say they are worth every penny. They might be the best investment schools make.

OP you are a dumb ass.
If the SB wants to save $$$ get rid of lanugage emersion programs in schools.
Get rid of "magnet" schools.
Get rid of the school bus fleet.
Contract out building maintenance.
Contract our custodial duties.
Get rid of assistant department directors.
Empty the schools of students and staff that will be under renovation.
Get rid of either one or both energy management facilities.
Actually install energy efficient mechanical systems.
Get rid of SOLs.
Use the buildings and facilities they already own for meetings and staff improvement classes.
Really how many superintendents and assistant superintendents does a system need when they have a school board that has it's own bevy of assistants.
Cut the assistant principals at the junior and high school level.

This is just a start. If I sit here long enough I could come up with more. It's amazing to me that the tax payers of this county can't get their school system under control.

Wait........ Wrote:
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> TJ and GT meet extreme academic needs, just like
> Special Ed. No difference. Just opposite ends of
> the spectrum. Sports are extra-curricular.

TJ and GT are not like Special Ed. Special Ed is mandated by the Feds where TJ and GT are not. Special Ed is also open to all who meet the qualifications. TJ could easily be filled 3 or 4 times over without lowering the quality. GT contains a handful of truly gifted students who need something more, and a much larger number of merely above average students whose needs and abilities are barely distinguishable from the next level of students not in the program.

I understand that you are not a fan of high school sports, but don't try to justify it on the grounds of exclusivity.

It turns out that those who played sports in HS go on to have more lucrative careers. Maybe you should get your kids out on the field ASAP:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-former-high-school-athletes-114700748.html

It is unquestionably anti-American and UN-Patriotic to attempt to get rid of American HS sports. Is this an ISIS plot? There is no more unifying and common experience in the United States than high school sports. From the smallest rural high school to the largest urban setting the experience is the same. Virtually everyone wants high school sports. Even a significant number of our first generation immigrants. Eliminating high school sports would be the end of Fairfax County.

Obviously OP was cut from any after school program he tried out for. I thought that the band and drama team didn't make cuts?

Only 31% of students use the turf fields.

Only 3% of non-students (e.g., clubs) use the turf fields.

Sounds kind of exclusive to me.

The Tyranny of Turf Wrote:
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> Only 31% of students use the turf fields.
>
> Only 3% of non-students (e.g., clubs) use the turf
> fields.
>
> Sounds kind of exclusive to me.


The fields get plenty of use. Every day after school and weekends there are little kids rec league teams (not school teams) playing soccer and baseball on the fields. I myself use the field and track regularly when school is out (I'm not a student, parent, or pedophile).

I guess artificial synthetic grass might be more durable than turf but there are some potential health risks with the astroturf, so I'm fine with the natural turf.

You really need a bullet to the head

I tried to walk on the turf at Woodson. A security guy came out and said I needed to be a student or a member of an athletic group. I am not either one, but a FFX resident and taxpayer. He said I needed to leave or he'd call FCPD.

I called Woodson the next day and they said that maintenance issues meant that the turf fields were not open to the public.

Glad I helped pay for something I'm not allowed to use.

Every gym class used the turf field and track at woodson. The track is usually open to the public; even during school hours.

In case you hadn't noticed, Karen Garza says the schools have no money.

It sure doesn't look like they're getting any more from the Board of Supervisors.

So, some things have to be cut.

In the case of sports, cut the subsidy. Make them pay for themselves. Heck, even add a 5% fee on top of that to pay for all the other stuff Garza thinks she needs.

tried and failed Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I tried to walk on the turf at Woodson. A security
> guy came out and said I needed to be a student or
> a member of an athletic group. I am not either
> one, but a FFX resident and taxpayer. He said I
> needed to leave or he'd call FCPD.
>
> I called Woodson the next day and they said that
> maintenance issues meant that the turf fields were
> not open to the public.
>
> Glad I helped pay for something I'm not allowed to
> use.


I tried to get in the cockpit of an F-15 at a nearby Air Force base.

Glad I helped pay for something I'm not allowed to use.

Only pay if you use it Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> tried and failed Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I tried to walk on the turf at Woodson. A
> security
> > guy came out and said I needed to be a student
> or
> > a member of an athletic group. I am not either
> > one, but a FFX resident and taxpayer. He said I
> > needed to leave or he'd call FCPD.
> >
> > I called Woodson the next day and they said
> that
> > maintenance issues meant that the turf fields
> were
> > not open to the public.
> >
> > Glad I helped pay for something I'm not allowed
> to
> > use.
>
>
> I tried to get in the cockpit of an F-15 at a
> nearby Air Force base.
>
> Glad I helped pay for something I'm not allowed to
> use.

Wow, fantastic analogy. What a zinger. A fighter jet and a local high school field are so similar you just destroyed his argument completely. You are truly brilliant.

Literally anything is more interesting and important to talk about than high school sports. No one cares.

TaxPayingTaxPayer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> OP you are a dumb ass.
> If the SB wants to save $$$ get rid of lanugage
> emersion programs in schools.
> Get rid of "magnet" schools.
> Get rid of the school bus fleet.
> Contract out building maintenance.
> Contract our custodial duties.
> Get rid of assistant department directors.
> Empty the schools of students and staff that will
> be under renovation.
> Get rid of either one or both energy management
> facilities.
> Actually install energy efficient mechanical
> systems.
> Get rid of SOLs.
> Use the buildings and facilities they already own
> for meetings and staff improvement classes.
> Really how many superintendents and assistant
> superintendents does a system need when they have
> a school board that has it's own bevy of
> assistants.
> Cut the assistant principals at the junior and
> high school level.
>
> This is just a start. If I sit here long enough I
> could come up with more. It's amazing to me that
> the tax payers of this county can't get their
> school system under control.


"lanugage
> emersion" . This guy makes his teachers so proud.

sports are good they keep ages 14-18 humans occupied. Any tax payer money spent keeping teens segregated in structured activities is a good use of funds. we should have more

Are the fields at Woodson open to the public or not?

The fighter plane example is ludicrous. There is no serious expectation that anyone could use one of these things. My father, who uses a cane, could certainly use a turf field if allowed to do so.

If the County is going to build these fields, and only open them to students and club members, they need to be clear about that. If they are open to the public, then the security guard and school office person need to be counseled.

People sure are touchy about these damned fields!

The fighter plane example is indeed ludicrous, which is part of the point.

Only because the idea that since someone pays for something via taxes (football field), you should be able to use it yourself, which started the silliness.

Heck, we all pay for things via taxes that we can't directly use.

I want to use the chemistry lab, and the contents within, and since I pay taxes, I should be able to. Right.

Doesn't work that way, whether it is fighter planes or footballs.

As far as anyone knows there is no chemistry task force document justifying large expenditures and claiming that the chemistry labs will be open to all.

The turf task force has produced a veritable panoply of documents saying exactly that, not for chemistry labs, but for turf fields.

Would still be nice to know what the law of the land at Woodson is about this.