RSJ - 06 May 2008 12:04 PM

My commute from the Station to 851, yards are littered with For Sale signs, I thought they were the new yard ornaments and I missed the sale at Wal*Mart. Sure I know there are many reasons behind selling, but there were not that many(if any) a couple years back.

I understand the high taxes....I have to pay them too...but i wonder if the number of houses for sale now has more to do with people biting off more than they can chew.  Either by purchasing more home then they could afford or by refinancing and taking out too much money.  The housing market right now has alot of that going on EVERYWHERE.  A couple years back...this was not the issue.

My thoughts exactly!

There is a proven correlation between high school sports programs and improved attendance and grades.  Particularly among those kids that are at the highest risk of dropping out.  Sports gives them a reason to go to school and maintain grades.

Having said that however, I cant see how it is fiscally responsible of the school district to take on more spending at this time.  With the teachers contract due this year, and all of the instability in both employment and the housing market, the district could quite quickly find that the tax money trough has dried up.  It just isnt bright, and when it comes time for elections to the board again, I would hope people would remember it.

Lacrosse did NOT ask for a new field. The team offered to play all away games their first season, if it proved impossible to work in 6-8 home games on the football field around the soccer schedule. They were told they could NOT use the old field hockey field. The girls team only wanted to be a school-sponsored/PIAA sport at KD. If not, they would have lost out on playing most of the other teams in the county. This seemed a shame since they won the championship last year and are undefeated this year.

There are lots of reasons to make a new field.  The football field could use some help.  I am more concerned that it appears that the school board is considering the tax arrears payments from Exelon to be ‘found money’ and is spending it in ways they normally wouldnt.  There doesnt appear to be much concern for long term costs associated with the addition of all of these things.  It is a lot like a small town receiving a block grant to hire new police.  Two years from now, the money isnt there anymore, but the stuff still needs to be maintained and paid for.

First let me say my daughter is a lacrosse player but still several years from high school. Regardless I have supported the high school sports related fund raisers, dinner nights, etc. for many years.

I have had the pleasure to meet several of the high school LAX players and families and are extremely pleased that the school board gave the go-ahead. I’m not going to rehash two years of threads about school spending but we all know the sports programs are not the reason our taxes keep going up.

These young ladies have managed to capture the championship last year and go undefeated this year, all without asking the school district for a dime. They’ve practiced in public parks and backyards since the school fields weren’t regularly available to them even though their families pay school taxes too. Their parents paid for the equipment and uniforms, as well as donating their time and gas to haul the girls to games. It says a lot about the coaches and parents commitment to the program to volunteer to play all away games so they don’t inconvenience the current teams next year. I don’t think its asking too much for a proven program to get a little support.

This girls aren’t whining that the existing field “needs work”, or asking for a new field, or anything that needs to be maintained and paid for after the Exelon money is gone. From mmshn’s post it looks like they are happy with whatever scraps they can get. They just want to play a sport they love and win titles for the school.

Shirley - 07 May 2008 08:28 AM

First let me say my daughter is a lacrosse player but still several years from high school. Regardless I have supported the high school sports related fund raisers, dinner nights, etc. for many years.

I have had the pleasure to meet several of the high school LAX players and families and are extremely pleased that the school board gave the go-ahead. I’m not going to rehash two years of threads about school spending but we all know the sports programs are not the reason our taxes keep going up.

These young ladies have managed to capture the championship last year and go undefeated this year, all without asking the school district for a dime. They’ve practiced in public parks and backyards since the school fields weren’t regularly available to them even though their families pay school taxes too. Their parents paid for the equipment and uniforms, as well as donating their time and gas to haul the girls to games. It says a lot about the coaches and parents commitment to the program to volunteer to play all away games so they don’t inconvenience the current teams next year. I don’t think its asking too much for a proven program to get a little support.

This girls aren’t whining that the existing field “needs work”, or asking for a new field, or anything that needs to be maintained and paid for after the Exelon money is gone. From mmshn’s post it looks like they are happy with whatever scraps they can get. They just want to play a sport they love and win titles for the school.

Exactly!! The girls have indeed practiced in a backyard, on the frozen tundra of the Plank Rd field, and on the football practice field (at the same time as 2 other teams). They did not ask for new uniforms or sticks. They asked for the minimum the board could throw their way just to play officially for the high school so as not to lose out on next season. I point these things out because I’m concerned about the ‘negative’ or at least ‘less-than-supportive’ posts I’ve seen over the last few days. I’d hate for the community to have a bad taste in it’s mouth regarding these girls. I’d invite all of you to come see them play their last regular season game this Saturday against Spring Grove at 4pm on the old field hockey field. They will play a playoff game on Monday at 6 on the turf field at Central. You will be impressed!
They have worked hard, their grades are up, and I might add that none of them was seen in any of the ‘drinking party pictures’. Just in case you were wondering..........

RSJ - 06 May 2008 12:04 PM

My commute from the Station to 851, yards are littered with For Sale signs, I thought they were the new yard ornaments and I missed the sale at Wal*Mart. Sure I know there are many reasons behind selling, but there were not that many(if any) a couple years back.

There were just as many then but they didn’t stay on the market long. I’ve been in the station for 7 years now and 4 of the 7 homes around me went up for sale in the past and were sold within a month. One of my neighbors for sale sign did not last a weekend. Today though its rough. That home on 851 - Beaver Dam Road - across from the municipal building has been up for over a year, one on Ballast has had 2 price reductions and is approaching 6 months. Scarborough Fare has a pair that are approaching 4 or 5 months now.....its a sign of the times.

This is great news. The school district can’t even afford up-to-date books for the students, or to fix leaky ceilings. But who cares as long a few girls get to play some ball? Don’t get me wrong, I think sports in schools are great but there are definitely other things that need to be taken care of first. What a joke.

Maybe some of the sales are due to tougher economic times.  However, I am approaching paying 7000.00$ a year to live in this area.
S imilar size home in the up and coming outskirts of atlanta is around 2000.00$ a yaer in taxes.  Consider that if I move and live 10 years
in the home in atlanta, I will be approximately 50,000.00$ richer!

Just a thought.

The problem with being 50k richer is that you wont be.  According to Sperlings Best Places, the Atlanta suburbs are at 2 of the nationwide cost of living index.  Stewartstown is at 101.  I am sure there are wide variations in that range though.  But either way, you couldnt convince me to move to Atlanta at gunpoint.

zort2001 - 10 May 2008 09:10 PM

Maybe some of the sales are due to tougher economic times.  However, I am approaching paying 7000.00$ a year to live in this area.
S imilar size home in the up and coming outskirts of atlanta is around 2000.00$ a yaer in taxes.  Consider that if I move and live 10 years in the home in atlanta, I will be approximately 50,000.00$ richer!

Just a thought.

Of course there’s always a down side. 

In this case the down side would be that you have to live in Atlanta.

MrFixIt - 05 May 2008 08:41 PM

If I was running low on funds I certainly wouldn’t run right out and buy a new car............unless I could get everyone here to chip in. Well, how bout it? I will let you pick the color and everthing. I mean if you are gonna pay for it, you should have a say in it....right?
Wait I forgot we were talking about spending money on SPORTS. Lets see.......what is most important? Learning Algebra or playing ball? How about we start a vocational class that teaches how to build ball fields? Do they teach economics at KD?
I just can’t stand to see people lose their homes because of tax increases so our kids can play ball.....sorry.

An excerpt from a York Dispatch article (no mention of Lacrosse):

“Some programs the district wanted to roll out next year have been cut out to save costs.  A full-day kindergarten program at Delta-Peach Bottom Elementary, a pre-kindergarten program at Fawn Area Elementary and an expanded early literacy program across the district all have been postponed.  ‘We’re not able to get everything into the budget,’ Shank said.”

http://yorkdispatch.inyork.com/yd/search/ci_9132029?IADID=Search-yorkdispatch.inyork.com-yorkdispatch.inyork.com

This same thing happened a few years back with football. Cut fall sports or spend money on academic related things. Sports won out yet again.

The school board and admininstration as well as a ton of parents have screwed up priorities. After school activities do not benefit all students. Only good academic programs will benefit all.

Congrats to the Girls Lacrosse Team for your wins!
You Go Girls!!!!  Great Job!