Racism in East Texas shines bright

sppunk · 02-10-2004, 03:35 AM

OK. Background. Longview, a town of around 70,000 in East Texas, is trying to get artificial turf on their high school football field, like most schools in ET have now. There is a story in the Longview News-Journal Tuesday that discusses this. However, one of the school's board trustees disagrees.

Best quote: "You become a black lover and we can't have that," he said. "We're going to give those nice, little black boys a nice, green field to play on and continue to send them to prison."

Story below. Good parts in bold.

By MELISSA TRESNER
Longview Independent School District trustees decided on Monday night the grass is greener when it's artificial.

Trustees voted 5-2 to seek bids to install synthetic turf and a new sound system at Lobo Stadium. Trustees Ted Beard and Dr. Troy Simmons dissented.

With engineering fees, the package will cost an estimated $550,000.

The board also approved financing covered play areas at 10 of the district's 11 elementary schools at an estimated cost of $400,000. Simmons voted against the measure, and Beard abstained.

The pavilions will allow the elementary students to have somewhere to play and learn physical education when it's rainy or cold, administrators said.

Hudson PEP Elementary School has a gymnasium so it was not *******d in the proposal.

The pavilions will be financed with time warrants at an estimated 2.5 percent interest rate. The district will have to repay about $430,650 over five years.

Zane Beck, assistant superintendent for business, said both the stadium and pavilion projects will probably begin in May and be wrapped up before the next school year starts in August.

Using tax maintenance notes with an projected 3.95 percent interest rate, the district will have to repay $677,388 for the stadium project over 10 years.

The annual payment will be about $66,650, but Beck said the district could actually see earnings of about $4,850 each year through revenue enhancements and maintenance cost savings.

Revenue enhancements ******* $20,000 from increasing football season ticket prices by $2; $20,000 through donations and fund-raisers; and $16,500 by renting the facility for playoff football games and other events.

Beck said the district could save at least $15,000 each year in water usage and maintenance on the field.

He said the district could see a 20-year savings of $503,000 by installing turf. That figure *******s $260,000 for replacing the turf in 10 years.

"I think it's very doable," Beck said of the 20-year savings. "I think there's not a better time for doing a project like this."

Simmons said he didn't support financing the turf because it sends a message to the community that the board believes athletics are more important than academics.

"I initially thought I wouldn't say anything about this. Unfortunately I can't sit here and not say anything," Simmons said.

He said the district had to cut $2.7 million just to balance the 2003-04 budget and most of the savings came from supplies, travel for training and by not replacing teachers who retired or resigned.

"I'm sitting here with a district that has been flipped over on its head financially," Simmons said. "Here we are ready to spend a half a million dollars on an athletic facility when our teachers can't get money for copies."

He said he supports Pat Collins, the head football coach at Longview High School and LISD athletic director, but the board's priority should be on curriculum and instruction — not athletics.

The district is sending a subliminal message similar to that of universities that recruit black football players with the intent of building a good team and selling lots of tickets, Simmons said.

"What we're saying is we'll take your kids and make millions of dollars off 'em but we don't give a damn whether they can read or write," he said.

He said it's a sad fact that most of the student athletes don't have a chance at a professional football career, so they'll end up being unproductive members of society.

"Most of the kids who go through the (football) program will end up in that nice, shiny jail on High Street," he said.

He also said the district should be spending money on academic programs for economically disadvantaged students, but the community has a problem with spending money on black children.

"You become a black lover and we can't have that," he said. "We're going to give those nice, little black boys a nice, green field to play on and continue to send them to prison."

Simmons' views were disputed by administrators and several trustees.

Trustee Anne Hugman said financing the turf is not going to take money away from academic programs and it's not just for the football players. It will be used by the band, soccer teams, junior varsity and freshman football teams.

"It will be used 365 days of the year. I want to make that point because it's a huge cross section of our students," she said.

Trustee Clint Humphreys, a former athletic director at the district, said extracurricular activities are as important as academic programs because they help create a well-rounded student.

He also said athletics are not overemphasized at LISD. Only 2.69 percent of the district's total budget is spent on extracurricular activities, he said.

Sam Satterwhite, who has been on the board for four years, said he believes education should ******* teaching students to have a sound mind and a sound body.

"Pat Collins and (band director) Harvey Durham are teaching life skills," he said.

Satterwhite said the stadium is a focal point for the community and it would be "asinine" to not keep it up and follow other school districts that are installing turf.

http://www.news-journal.com/news/new...65204162499066

coffee spoons, is that you?

tootsie · 02-10-2004, 03:39 AM

well, hes not exactly saying that he thinks they should go to prison is he? hes saying that they should spend more money on black kids to educate them to keep them out of jail...

i could be wrong of course.

02-10-2004, 03:39 AM

You should take the rest of that crap out; no one's gonna read all that other mess, so they won't get to the good part.

Sadly, that guy is right. He didn't take the most PC approach but the truth is most high school football players in East Texas are a) black; b) unlikely to play college much less professional football; c) the area's love of high school football creates an atomosphere where the players don't focus at all on school and d) statistically speaking, black high school football players at Longview are likely to spend some time in prison.

sppunk · 02-10-2004, 03:45 AM

Oh, he's completely right. But his black lover comment should have been the lead. And that story should have been completely written around his racist, yet accurate, statements of a public school board trustee.

Mayfuck · 02-10-2004, 03:46 AM

Texas is kind of dumb.

Mayfuck · 02-10-2004, 03:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by sppunk
Oh, he's completely right. But his black lover comment should have been the lead. And that story should have been completely written around his racist, yet accurate, statements of a public school board trustee.

He wasn't being racist. He recognized how the city puts sports in front of academics and pointed out how it incidentally hurts the black community and voted against it.

02-10-2004, 03:51 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mayfuck
Texas is kind of dumb.

Understatement of the year.

tootsie · 02-10-2004, 03:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mayfuck

He wasn't being racist. He recognized how the city puts sports in front of academics and pointed out how it incidentally hurts the black community and voted against it.

thats exactly what i got from it.

sppunk · 02-10-2004, 03:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mayfuck

He wasn't being racist. He recognized how the city puts sports in front of academics and pointed out how it incidentally hurts the black community and voted against it.

I guess you have to know background information about this whole deal, which no one here obviously cares about, but they fired their black superintendent this past summer for allowing a black teacher to only teach black students. Racism within the school board is very, very prevelant. This will just open a massive black/white issue they frankly don't need.

Edit: That's why I said the guy is completely accurate though, but his black players going to prison comments are completely unrelated.

Of course, they did have their "all-star" black football player that just signed a scholarship to Texas A&M arrested Sunday for felony armed robbery.

severin · 02-10-2004, 04:06 AM

i still don't see any racism on his part....in fact the way i take it is, that he condemns it more or less. like, "here you can give the black players a new football field, but if you'd try to support them in school, you'd be labeled as a black lover and you can't do that..."

dean moriaty · 02-10-2004, 08:49 AM

i agree with the austrian

Nimrod · 02-10-2004, 11:39 AM

They should start football teams in the jail.

pastor · 02-10-2004, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Nimrod
They should start football teams in the jail.

They might have trouble finding a tight end.

severin · 02-10-2004, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pastor

They might have trouble finding a tight end.

http://forums.netphoria.org/stars/star2.gif http://forums.netphoria.org/stars/star2.gif http://forums.netphoria.org/stars/star2.gif http://forums.netphoria.org/stars/star2.gif http://forums.netphoria.org/stars/star2.gif

Mayfuck · 02-10-2004, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pastor

They might have trouble finding a tight end.

*rimshot*

souvenir · 02-10-2004, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mayfuck
Texas is kind of dumb.

yeah, kind of

Nimrod · 02-10-2004, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pastor

They might have trouble finding a tight end.

True, but they could make up for it with a number of wide receivers.

02-10-2004, 03:35 AM	#1
sppunk Netphoria's George Will Location: Fenway Park Posts: 37,125	Racism in East Texas shines bright OK. Background. Longview, a town of around 70,000 in East Texas, is trying to get artificial turf on their high school football field, like most schools in ET have now. There is a story in the Longview News-Journal Tuesday that discusses this. However, one of the school's board trustees disagrees. Best quote: "You become a black lover and we can't have that," he said. "We're going to give those nice, little black boys a nice, green field to play on and continue to send them to prison." Story below. Good parts in bold. By MELISSA TRESNER Longview Independent School District trustees decided on Monday night the grass is greener when it's artificial. Trustees voted 5-2 to seek bids to install synthetic turf and a new sound system at Lobo Stadium. Trustees Ted Beard and Dr. Troy Simmons dissented. With engineering fees, the package will cost an estimated $550,000. The board also approved financing covered play areas at 10 of the district's 11 elementary schools at an estimated cost of $400,000. Simmons voted against the measure, and Beard abstained. The pavilions will allow the elementary students to have somewhere to play and learn physical education when it's rainy or cold, administrators said. Hudson PEP Elementary School has a gymnasium so it was not *****d in the proposal. The pavilions will be financed with time warrants at an estimated 2.5 percent interest rate. The district will have to repay about $430,650 over five years. Zane Beck, assistant superintendent for business, said both the stadium and pavilion projects will probably begin in May and be wrapped up before the next school year starts in August. Using tax maintenance notes with an projected 3.95 percent interest rate, the district will have to repay $677,388 for the stadium project over 10 years. The annual payment will be about $66,650, but Beck said the district could actually see earnings of about $4,850 each year through revenue enhancements and maintenance cost savings. Revenue enhancements *** $20,000 from increasing football season ticket prices by $2; $20,000 through donations and fund-raisers; and $16,500 by renting the facility for playoff football games and other events. Beck said the district could save at least $15,000 each year in water usage and maintenance on the field. He said the district could see a 20-year savings of $503,000 by installing turf. That figure ***s $260,000 for replacing the turf in 10 years. "I think it's very doable," Beck said of the 20-year savings. "I think there's not a better time for doing a project like this." Simmons said he didn't support financing the turf because it sends a message to the community that the board believes athletics are more important than academics. "I initially thought I wouldn't say anything about this. Unfortunately I can't sit here and not say anything," Simmons said. He said the district had to cut $2.7 million just to balance the 2003-04 budget and most of the savings came from supplies, travel for training and by not replacing teachers who retired or resigned. "I'm sitting here with a district that has been flipped over on its head financially," Simmons said. "Here we are ready to spend a half a million dollars on an athletic facility when our teachers can't get money for copies." He said he supports Pat Collins, the head football coach at Longview High School and LISD athletic director, but the board's priority should be on curriculum and instruction — not athletics. The district is sending a subliminal message similar to that of universities that recruit black football players with the intent of building a good team and selling lots of tickets, Simmons said. "What we're saying is we'll take your kids and make millions of dollars off 'em but we don't give a damn whether they can read or write," he said. He said it's a sad fact that most of the student athletes don't have a chance at a professional football career, so they'll end up being unproductive members of society. "Most of the kids who go through the (football) program will end up in that nice, shiny jail on High Street," he said. He also said the district should be spending money on academic programs for economically disadvantaged students, but the community has a problem with spending money on black children. "You become a black lover and we can't have that," he said. "We're going to give those nice, little black boys a nice, green field to play on and continue to send them to prison." Simmons' views were disputed by administrators and several trustees. Trustee Anne Hugman said financing the turf is not going to take money away from academic programs and it's not just for the football players. It will be used by the band, soccer teams, junior varsity and freshman football teams. "It will be used 365 days of the year. I want to make that point because it's a huge cross section of our students," she said. Trustee Clint Humphreys, a former athletic director at the district, said extracurricular activities are as important as academic programs because they help create a well-rounded student. He also said athletics are not overemphasized at LISD. Only 2.69 percent of the district's total budget is spent on extracurricular activities, he said. Sam Satterwhite, who has been on the board for four years, said he believes education should ***** teaching students to have a sound mind and a sound body. "Pat Collins and (band director) Harvey Durham are teaching life skills," he said. Satterwhite said the stadium is a focal point for the community and it would be "asinine" to not keep it up and follow other school districts that are installing turf. http://www.news-journal.com/news/new...65204162499066 coffee spoons, is that you?

02-10-2004, 04:06 AM	#10
severin no more than sympathy Location: lying on the floor Posts: 14,826	i still don't see any racism on his part....in fact the way i take it is, that he condemns it more or less. like, "here you can give the black players a new football field, but if you'd try to support them in school, you'd be labeled as a black lover and you can't do that..." __________________ i once told a To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. that nothing really ends

02-10-2004, 03:39 AM	#2
tootsie Minion of Satan Location: go go gadget goggler Posts: 5,346	well, hes not exactly saying that he thinks they should go to prison is he? hes saying that they should spend more money on black kids to educate them to keep them out of jail... i could be wrong of course.

02-10-2004, 03:39 AM	#3
Boner Posts: n/a	You should take the rest of that crap out; no one's gonna read all that other mess, so they won't get to the good part. Sadly, that guy is right. He didn't take the most PC approach but the truth is most high school football players in East Texas are a) black; b) unlikely to play college much less professional football; c) the area's love of high school football creates an atomosphere where the players don't focus at all on school and d) statistically speaking, black high school football players at Longview are likely to spend some time in prison.

02-10-2004, 03:45 AM	#4
sppunk Netphoria's George Will Location: Fenway Park Posts: 37,125	Oh, he's completely right. But his black lover comment should have been the lead. And that story should have been completely written around his racist, yet accurate, statements of a public school board trustee.

02-10-2004, 03:46 AM	#5
Mayfuck Banned Location: i'm from japan also hollywood Posts: 57,812	Texas is kind of dumb.

02-10-2004, 08:49 AM	#11
dean moriaty lion of saloons Location: ^ Posts: 7,370	i agree with the austrian

02-10-2004, 11:39 AM	#12
Nimrod Macho Business Donkey Wrestler Location: the cross i'm bearing home 'aint indicative of my place Posts: 5,410	They should start football teams in the jail.