At the June 3 county commission meeting, I learned about a request for up to $50,000 of our tax dollars for a $300,000 jumbotron for the high school. A jumbotron is a fancy scoreboard with a big screen used at sporting events. One of the justifications was that it could be used for other purposes such as a movie night. Doing some reading about them after the meeting, they seem to be gaining in popularity with high schools throughout the country. Too often what I read ended up being a “keeping up with the Jones” mindset. What does that mean? School “A” in another county got a jumbotron, so now we “need” one for our school. One school in Texas (where everything is bigger) spent over $1.3 million in tax dollars.
This came about here since Next Era is giving the school board $100,000 for limited purposes. It turns out private funding has raised $150,000 more (a great thing especially given the intrusion upon businesses by government in response to COVID). That leaves a shortfall of $50,000. The taxpayers via the Board of County Commissioners are being asked to give at least some of this, and there appeared to be a consensus to “find” at least $10,000 for this purpose from a grant fund.
Looked at another way, consider a relative wants to give you $1,000, but it can only be used to buy a $3,000 big screen TV that you really don’t need since what you have works. Some local businesses help you out and give you another $1,500. That leaves you $500 short, so you have a few options:
1. Dump it on the government, and ask everyone that pays taxes to pay for your new TV,
2. Cut back on some expenses and budget the money needed,
3. Get a smaller TV, or better yet
4. Realize that the car you drive to work needs $1,000 for tires and other repairs. Use the money for that essential purpose vs buying something you really don’t need.
It was brought up by another citizen at the meeting the school needs money for the gymnasium. That seems like a far better use of any money than a frivolous item like a jumbotron.
I have no doubt the spending will go through. Sports, even at the high school level, are a religion to many. I also heard the usual “for the children” justification as well. If that’s the case, where does it stop? The bottom line here is not enough people want to get involved or will even know about this waste. By the time this was brought up, there were only about 5 citizens at the meeting. Citizen involvement may end up being moot if the commission just rubber stamps the spending vs putting it in front of the public as they should.
A similar concept was advanced a few years ago on a much larger scale- the Lloyd sports complex. When it was put to a vote, it failed in a large way because most people here- once they found out about the true cost of the proposal- have the sense to discern that which is essential vs that which is a non-essential luxury. Tax dollars should not go toward luxuries, especially when there are essential items in need of funds. Items such as a jumbotron should be 100% privately funded, and then only purchased after all essential needs have been met.
Paul Henry