That is a remark I made to the N&O’s T. Keung Hui at last night’s Citizens’ Facilities Advisory Committee meeting. I serve on the committee, which has met for over a year to find ways to reduce Wake’s above average construction costs and improve the school construction and renovation process.
Our draft recommendations challenge some sacred cows in Wake County, including the need for extensive athletic facilities and parking, as well as the school parity-at-any-cost principle that forces upgrades on schools just to compete with newer ones. I know, these sound a lot like recommendations offered elsewhere.
We may want to build tennis courts at every high school, but the school system’s priority has to be to provide seats for new students. It is bizarre to worry about children having tennis courts, “lunch in a pleasant place,” or a parking spot when the school system is adding 8,000 new students every year and resources are limited.
Of course, Wake school board member Horace Tart said it best. “It’s a start, but not everything they’re going to recommend can be implemented.” In fact, I’d be surprised if anything we recommend is implemented.
