Mayor Alan Autry and Fresno Unified Superintendent Michael Hanson met this week to work out an agreement for the city to provide about $2 million to help upgrade school facilties that can be used by the community after school hours. The projects getting the most attention are swimming pools and all-weather tracks at Fresno High School and Bullard High School. But the city's money may be used at all the district's high schools if this proposal goes through.
On Tuesday, the City Council will be asked to support the concept. If it does, this would be a breakthrough agreement for our community. For far too long, the schools and the city have mostly worked in their individual worlds. But they are serving the same people, with only a few exceptions. School facilities are too expensive to be used only during school hours. It makes sense to make them available to the community at other times.
I have been pushing this issue in columns and blog postings in recent months. There are many schools that need help, but district officials say the Fresno and Bullard pools/tracks are at the top of the list. The city should be working with the schools in a more uniform way. I think the city should put up at least $7 million, but $2 million is a good start.
The money for school facilities would come out of the city's proposed $35 million in bonds to improve parks and recreation areas in the city. That list is being finalized now and mayor and City Council needs to hear from you on your priorities.
A citizens advisory committee is developing a master plan to upgrades facilities in Fresno's schools. The facilities committee should have a proposal for the superintendent and the school board in the next 15-18 months. But Bullard and Fresno High are no-brainer projects. Get them done now, and then go to the next major projects on the list.
In exchange for the city's money, the district must make the schools available after hours for recreation, as homework centers and for enrichment programs. And the district must stop locking the gates to school grounds. Those grounds are part of the city's green space, and they should be used as much as possible by residents.
Jim-Who are the folks that should have been doing this job all along and why are additional funds being diverted to this project when the money to maintain them should have been there all along.Who decides to let things get to this point.Do they still have a job.It sounds like you want to rob Peter(taxpayers) to pay Paul(Inept school facilities management).Keep doing that and you'll end up with a sore Peter.
Don't worry about Peter, Brian. This could easily be a win-win situation for the city and the school district. Why build brand-new facilities when refurbishing existing facilities (and making them more available) will give you more bang for your buck?