Publicly funded high school sports.

[General_Curtis_LeMay]

So i have decided to bring this topic up because this issuer is of great and never ending grieviance to me.

I have been to several schools throughtout my life and have known thier footbal players for a long time as well. I have a great amopunt of disdain for the programme for it drains taxpayers of billions nationwide, and gived next to nothing in return for its huge and incomprehencable pricetag.
Open my eyes if I am missing something.

[Aristophanes]

You aren't missing anything. Apparently it's easier for schools to excel in sports than academically.

[D-Rock]

Well I don't know about billions, but in my home town we just built a new stadium with taxpayer money, but it was a .5 penny sales tax and the people voted for it.

The town has ~100,000 people and the stadium holds 7500 people, and its packed 5 Fridays during a 10 week season. Adult tickets $10 and student $4. that money goes 70-30 percent to the school (70) and OSSAA (oklahoma secondary school athletic association). The Concession is split 50/50 between the booster club and school district. The booster club pays for the meals and travel expenses. There is a little store that sells T-shirts and misc junk that say BA tiger football and all that jazz, all that money goes to the school (except for cost of production).

In our school bullentin that we get everymonth which I hate since I am not a student and just a resident. reported that the school made a substantial profit form ticket and other sells.

I hate basketball so I could not tell anything about that, but the yearly report (which is public record) will tell you how the school district fares.

And I thought extracurricular activities were promoted in the healthy development of an individual.

[harm]

when taxes go up in a neighborhood with a vote that is close...you know everyone in the trailer park can't afford a tax hike....or even give a damn about a tax hike. sell soda and candy to these fat kids as usual.

[AMERICARULES]

Football is a huge part of our society and brings communities together. You can't just overlook this fact. In a lot of ways, what those kids and those communities experience is worth more than any amount of money.

[D-Rock]

Plus it is a sales tax increase for example when the initiative passed here the sales taxes went from 8.5% to 8.55% (0.5 penny). simple math means that on a hundred dollar purchase, a nickel. That hardly cripples anyone.

overtaxed yes, but by this no!

[Shaun]

Football is a huge part of our society and brings communities together. You can't just overlook this fact. In a lot of ways, what those kids and those communities experience is worth more than any amount of money.

QFT. And not to mention that Britian and America are facing an obesity epidemic, free sports at school would cut this drastically.

[danzig]

QFT. And not to mention that Britian and America are facing an obesity epidemic, free sports at school would cut this drastically.

Just fyi alot of the western world its not just Brits and Americans and its expanding to pretty much any 'wealth' country in the world. Obesity rates are amazingly high in wealth, oil rich countries in middle east as well.

[MaximiIian]

Just fyi alot of the western world its not just Brits and Americans and its expanding to pretty much any 'wealth' country in the world. Obesity rates are amazingly high in wealth, oil rich countries in middle east as well.

Well, of course. The more money you have, the more food you can afford. People like to eat food, it's just in our nature.

On-Topic:
I'd say that maybe the funding could be more evenly allocated, and that it is unfair that academia doesn't get as much money put into it as sports. However, the things that sporting events achieve is still of importance.

[GeneralLee]

I dont know about you all but my highschool made some money off of our sports programs not just ticket sales but donations from alumni increased when we started winning.

[Gwendylyn]

Its not so much that its bad that sports are publically funded, but that the amount of money spent on athletic extra-curriculular activities is so much more than the amount of money spent on academic extra-curriculars that the second takes the backseat. It doesn't send the right message to the students, and certainly doesn't support the whole "school is for learning" mantra.

[Erik]

I wished my government would spend some more on sports.
Nothing extraordinary, just to help serious athletes finance part of their expenses.

Currently it's almost impossible to practice sports on the highest level without having at least a part time job.
This means students, who make up a huge part of out Olympic-athletes-to-be don't have enough time left for their education.

[Tom Paine]

Yeah, but wer're also taking a lot of flak over our falling standards of education (personally I think that's BS, but...); which is more important, an educated populace, or a populace which is physically fit?

[AMERICARULES]

Yeah, but wer're also taking a lot of flak over our falling standards of education (personally I think that's BS, but...); which is more important, an educated populace, or a populace which is physically fit?

We definitely have to balance where we dole out our funds. You really would like to have both an educated and physically fit populace. Football and other sports are a great way to achieve the physically fit part of that equation, and it's really not all that expensive (.5% tax or so).

[Shaun]

Yeah, but wer're also taking a lot of flak over our falling standards of education (personally I think that's BS, but...); which is more important, an educated populace, or a populace which is physically fit?

But they need not be at opposite ends of the spectrum. They can both tie in together, ie a physically fit population is a population educated from the problems of obesity, and not being physically fit.

Yes, we have to balance it, but I see the educational role of schools as being of greater import than their role in forcing exercise.

Correct, but I do believe that schools should force at least some exercise on children.

[hsimoorb]

Correct, but I do believe that schools should force at least some exercise on children.

The best way to do that is to reform the rediculous excuse of a class called "physical education", which is by no means educational or physical. If it means shattering some kid's egos by telling them they are fat and have to run a mile a day, so be it.

[Tom Paine]

But they need not be at opposite ends of the spectrum. They can both tie in together, ie a physically fit population is a population educated from the problems of obesity, and not being physically fit.

So they know the perils of obesity and not much else; at least they won't be obese when they have too little knowledge to get a job, hm? No, that's not really true. You can't really tie in the education and the exercise, though you can easily teacxh about the perils of obesity... biology classes, anyone?

Correct, but I do believe that schools should force at least some exercise on children.

Yes, but its definitely a secondary role, not a primary one.

[Tom Paine]

Yes, we have to balance it, but I see the educational role of schools as being of greater import than their role in forcing exercise.

[General_Curtis_LeMay]

While I don't know about how it is in other nations, here's how it is in the US. The fittest, most muscular people play sports, not the overweight ones, thus proving that it doesn't help people stay in shape. Secondly, when only 75% of a school gets a "D" or better in thier GPA's, this merits attention, not a 3 million dollar astroturf soccer/field hockey feild. I don't think the school district has the rights to do this, seeings as thier sole and only priority is to educate thier students and provide any necissary programs to see to thier education. I would rather see $3 million spent on tutors than on sports stadiums, especialy since the athlets who play in them are given special privledges that let them out of class early to train on sports.
If one wanted to have one's children play a sport, that person should pay for it themselfes, because at pmy school, 90% of the athlet's parents make $100k+, so i see no reason that they couldn't pay for it instead of the taxpayer.

[Bwaho]

I have a great amopunt of disdain for the programme for it drains taxpayers of billions nationwide, and gived next to nothing in return for its huge and incomprehencable pricetag.
Open my eyes if I am missing something.

did you suck in gym class?


oh grow up, young people should get some exercise because if they don't they'll get all kinds of diseases and problems with their bodies which in the end will affect the tax payers (at least if you have public healthcare).