Troy Reed, Kenny Hopp, Jim Linsley and Brad Fuller are representatives of three groups: the Panther Football Alumni Association, the 12th man group and local people interested in the future of Washington Community High School.
They are not, however, just interested in the high school’s future; they are taking actions to improve the school in both the short-term and long-term future.
Reed said the smaller project of building a new press box was kicked around years ago but nothing came of it because it was decided the bleechers would also, someday, need to be expanded and possibly moved.
The Panther’s fans sit facing the west, exposed to the wind and the glaring sun during afternoon games.
The proposed athletic facility leaves the possibilty open for an expansion of the visitors’ bleechers to become the home team’s side.
This sort of long-term planning and action is exactly what high school officials need to continue improving their facilities.
It was suggested at the Nov. 9 school board meeting that public perception of the project may be negative in the context of the failed $18-million referendum for building renovations and construction, and the continued attempt to negotiate the school’s needs with the community’s ability to swallow an income-tax rate hike.
Board members scaled back many of their plans and some academic needs will be put on hold.
That is why it is easy to imagine criticism of the new athletic facility that will mainly benefit the football and baseball teams.
As school board president Jim Gerkin put it, people will probably say, “Well, here’s just some more money for athletics.”
The debate could rage forever. What is more important: class-room learning, where students learn fundamentals, or extra-curricular activities, where students learn what they cannot learn in a classroom?
Whatever one’s priorities are — sports, academics, band, etc. — it is impossible to fault a group of people for donating, or significantly discounting, their time, labor and materials to improve the high school in any way possible.
This is not an either/or situation where the new athletic facility would take money away from academics.
The initiative of the football alumni association and the 12th Man Foundation, along with the enormously positive response from local business owners and individuals shows the lengths to which people will go for the future of WCHS.
They have also shown they understand the future of Washington is directly linked to WCHS’s future.
It is unnecessary to reiterate the direct link between home resale values and the quality of the district’s schools.
No, the new athletic facility would not make up for the circa 1970s science labs, but it would, as Linsley explained, show people coming from out of town to sporting events, that people in Washington really care about their town, schools and students.
That is also the message the Panther Football Alumni Association, the 12th Man and any individual supporting their endeavors are sending not only to out-of-town visitors, but also to the rest of Washington.
Now, if only there were a group of local people who would be willing to step up and throw their support behind the improvement of the rest of the school building.
Washington, Ill. —
