Stadium not worth the expense
The building of the new stadium and proposed Health and Wellness Fitness Center is not good for the community. In total, the school has allotted $12 million for its construction, and I can’t be the only one thinking, where the heck are we getting this money from? Wouldn’t this amount of money be put to better use in promoting academics or even other clubs and extra-curriculars?
I understand that we need a new track. I’ve run on it, and it’s not nice– the gravel is terrible for traction, and the field is a mud pit on its good days. However, I don’t think it should be a top priority for the school. We could use the money for a different purpose, such as renovating White Deer along with Baugher Elementary.
The building of a new track and stadium is reasonable, but the wellness center is a waste of money. The school already has a weight room and wrestling room that serves us well.
The wellness center is being promoted with the idea that it will be open to the public, which raises safety concerns in a time where safety is a major priority in schools.
“The district would definitely have to take measures regarding liability if it were to open the wellness center to the public,” said School Board Member Ken Snyder.
Mr. Snyder said he is unsure if building the stadium and wellness center will impact taxes on the public, and the school has secured a bond service to pay for the project. If the community does have a tax increase, this is alarming to many, especially households struggling to pay their current taxes.
A Nov. 27, 2017, article from The Daily Item stated that Northumberland County has not completed property assessments since the early 1970s, but Union County did an assessment in 2006. This difference in assessments could be a cause for major tax differences between the two sides of the river. Miltonians in Union County could feel the effect of the stadium cost much more than those in Northumberland County because of a prominent rise in taxes through an increased percentage or greater numerical increase in them than those in Northumberland.
Along with tax increases, there could also be an increase in ticket prices at football games or other athletic matches. There may also be a fee for sporting events that are currently free to the public, such as track meets and soccer and baseball games.
Having a new stadium would cost the community more, and with an increase in prices and amount of fees, there could be a decrease in attendance. Mr. Snyder said that he is currently unsure if there will be an increase in ticket prices or an expansion in the sales but that, “It would not be unusual if [ticket prices] were.”
Over the past few years, the school has spent quite a bit of money on cleaning mold and getting each student a device (while still using books and papers). These devices also need regular maintenance, and I am sure that many students can concur. Having devices along with the old-school pen and paper is expensive, and it seems that the district thinks spending another $12 million is not concerning even if we spent about $2.5 million on the mold. The district bought 680 Dell Latitude 3390s in 2018, with a total cost of $408,000.
As it seems, this massive project will only benefit a limited number of students. Some students will use the new facilities, but will it be a much greater number than the ones that use the current ones?
Only a part of the student and staff use the facilities we have now. Since we will be spending $12 million, we should use it in a way that will benefit a greater portion of the school and community. According to Athletic Director Mr. Rod Harris, about 288 high school students will use the new facilities. Approximately 700 students attend Milton High School.
The school should save the money until we need it, and hold off on renovating things until they need to be renovated and not when we feel like it. We could need the money a year from now, and it would put the district in deeper debt.
Right now is just not a good time to build a new stadium after the costs from years before. The money could be spent in much more efficient ways, but it doesn’t really need to be spent at all.
