Spending $1 million on synthetic turf - are you kidding me? The Auburn school superintendent and school board have wasted how many hours debating and giving presentations to promote a new turf field stadium, possible sound upgrades, lighting and drainage improvements and soil augmentation, a possible jogging track and additional fencing or walks.

John Plume says 80 percent would be covered by a state grant. Wow, they make it sound like it's free money given to the school and we don't have to pay any of it. Well, it's not free. The extra 20 percent will have to be picked up by us - the local taxpayers.

Can you image how much that 20 percent will equal out to be by the time the project is done? The school district always has a way of�going over the budget. They expect us to pay for the upkeep of the turf, stadium, lights, sound system, fences, walks, etc. Call me crazy but shouldn't we be replacing the high school roof and putting in replacement windows before we build a stadium?

Plume expects taxpayers to pick up the tab for turf upkeep of $250,000 every 7 to 8 years, which will increase with inflation. So that $250,000 could be $325,000 and more as each seven years passes. In addition, grounds people would have to be hired.

Do we realize the school district's academic failures ( like the high dropout rate)? There has been a lack of concern shown by the majority of the school board members. The taxpayers are financially strapped but they still push for more money.

We have an out of control school board with members that don't think they have to represent or answer the people. Funny how they had no problem eliminating four math and reading remedial teaching positions but continue to press forward for turf. Turf vs. remedial math and reading teachers. Turf wins!

Plume stated that the district was hard-pressed to keep on all instructional staff, especially in light of voters' approval May 16 of the school district's budget, for which the board had added $290,000 to maintain school resource officers. We were told that the school district had the money to pay for the resource officers. Let's not place blame on them because the superintendent chose to eliminate teaching positions.

State Assemblyman Gary Finch's newest mailer states problems that exist in the school districts he represents: Graduation rates in his district range from 62 percent to the low 80s, and New York spends 48 percent more per pupil than the national average, yet ranks 24th in academic achievement among the 50 states.

Turf is taking the front seat to education. Sports vs. education. School is about reading, writing and arithmetic. Kent Brandstetter summed it up best: “Johnny can't read a lick, but he sure can play football.”

Ducayne's column appears

Tuesdays in The Citizen and

she can be reached at

sacredheart6005@hotmail.com