Priorities: Flush with COVID-19 aid, schools steer funding to sports

[Counselor706]

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — One Wisconsin school district built a new football field. In Iowa, a high school weight room is getting a renovation. Another in Kentucky is replacing two outdoor tracks — all of this funded by the billions of dollars in federal pandemic relief Congress sent to schools this year.

The money is part of a $123 billion infusion intended to help schools reopen and recover from the pandemic. But with few limits on how the funding can be spent, The Associated Press found that some districts have used large portions to cover athletics projects they couldn’t previously afford.

Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, said every dollar of pandemic relief spent on sports could be used to expand tutoring, reduce class sizes and take other steps to help students who are struggling academically.

“Can these districts show that all their kids are ready to graduate at the end of this year — college- and career-ready?” she said. “If not, then stop the construction. Stop it right now.”

Source

 

[pecksniff]

I have always questioned the wisdom of having varsity sports at all, at the high school or the college level.

 

[Lazaran]

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Um, high school sports are a big part of students mental health and the entire schools sense of pride.

The Covid funds can legitimately be applied to such improvements or maintenance.

 

[pecksniff]

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Um, high school sports are a big part of students mental health . . .

Only in the sense that they drive everybody crazy.

 

[Lazaran]

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Competition reveals character. The participants AND the spectators.

Organized physical training, discipline, and teamwork in an institutional setting prepares young people for situations they are going to encounter in their adult lives.

Sports engage the mind, body, and spirit.

The benefits far outweigh the costs IMHO.