$60 million football stadium so kids could feel good about themselves and their school...

[cynatnite]

On NBC Nightly News, they did a piece about a school near Dallas, TX who built a football stadium for the local high school. It was taxpayer funded and cost $60 million dollars. It had all the bells and whistles of a full pro or college stadium.

The news piece shows folks talking that it was a good investment in the future of the kids and that parents wanted their kids to play in style. Some of the kids talked about school pride.

Nowhere did anyone talk about how that $60 million could have made that school the best one in the country.

Texas is #49 in verbal SAT scores in the nation (493) and #46 in average math SAT scores (502).
Texas is #36 in the nation in high school graduation rates (68%).

http://www.window.state.tx.us/comptrol/wwstand/wws0512ed/

Read more here...

http://www.cbs8.com/story/19424741/texas-school-to-open-60m-football-field-of-dreams

[TreasonousBastard]

1. Who needs good grades and skool lernin' when you can have...

a great football stadium.

Priorites, people... priorities.

[Alduin]

2. My college is spending money building our football team a stadium...

while cutting programs. We were one of the best schools in the state for aviation but it was cut due to "budget cuts." Yet, the school is able to make a new football stadium and upgrade the hockey center.

I get pissed off when $100 million is being spent on new sports stadiums at my school while education is being cut, tuition is skyrocketing, and the school is offering less to the students.

[11 Bravo]

3. When one of your school's aviators leaves a large, smoking hole in the ground due to pilot error ...

do you dance around in a little circle giggling, "Darwin Award"?

[Alduin]

4. Um...

this is a different thread.

Kindly refrain from stalking me or I may have to alert.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

9. Check to see how much of that $100 million

was brought in by the football program and the hockey program.

I'm betting most of it.

[TXWayne]

5. Yea, and??

You do quote statistics about Texas but this is the city of Allen, not the state of Texas. The taxpayers of Allen voted for it and we love it. Yes, Texas has some problems with education but there is not a lot the city of Allen can do to fix the entire state of Texas but we can sure help out our kids. You can check out, http://www.allenisd.org/Page/174, and see that in 2008 and 2009 we passed bonds to the tune of $338 million to build many things of which the stadium was included. Here is a story about something these bonds built, http://www.wfaa.com/news/education/Allen-schools-built-impressive-arts-center-when-three-Collin-cities-could-not-147994475.html, not at all athletic related. Also http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2011/oct/03/student-run-restaurant-open-allen-high-school/ which has nothing to do with athletics. Our graduating senior class last year pulled in $28 million in scholarship offers, that is just what they reported, so apparently the school is doing something right. Oh, and don't talk about laying off teachers, the school district added 162 new teachers this year.

I served 23 years in the military and moved every 3, living coast to coast and overseas so I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. Trust me, Allen HS where my son is now a senior is one of the best I have ever seen and could not be happier with his education. I am not a native Texan, only lived here since 2006 when I escaped Arizona whose underfunded schools were failing my son. Now he is being pursued by the likes of Yale, USC, Pepperdine, NYU Poly, and as of Friday MIT.

Bottom line is we in Allen are having our cake and eating it too, does it cost tax dollars, you bet but we are paying our own way and we are happy about it.

[Brickbat]

6. If the community voted for it, I don't have a problem with it.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

7. Same here

This isn't taking away from school funding, and the community voted to pay for it. If it's important to them, good for them for being willing to pay for it.

[loli phabay]

8. yup their money their decision.