Originally posted by Gibby:
I don't forsee the public saying okay to another tax raise for coach salary, etc. Money has to go to the greater good. Getting kids to learn is much more important that wrestling, economically speaking. Someone will come on here and tell of all the benefits sports have and I agree. But if they aren't in the room, then it's not doing anyone any good.
Gibby,
I think you made many extremely valid points. I too agree that we need to focus our attention on academics, but like you said, sports and other extracuriculars can have an extremely positive impact on academics. When I called for a tax increase, I was not speaking of Wichita alone. We as a state are long overdue for a tax increase, or reallotment of the already scarce financial resources to properly fund education, both curricular and extracurricular. While I understand that we have recently been in a recession, the State representatives that were elected in the late 90's during the heighth of the booming economy cut taxes with such reckless abandon as to squander our state's surplus. Then when the boom came to an end (and who didn't know it would?) they wouldn't raise taxes back to the previous level to continue to fund the programs they are constitutionally required to. To me this is either extreme incompetence or something worse!
Originally posted by Gibby:
Suggestions, look at a consolidation of athletics. North and West. East and Southeast. Northwest and Heights. There's no rule that says this can't be done. If Wichita truly wanted to keep the sport, consolidation of activities is one option.
An excellent suggestion if it comes to that. I hope the board will take that into consideration before it wipes its hands clean of the whole mess!
