A chance to consider gym on its merits (03/22/07)

At least this time, the matter can be debated on its merits.

We'd say the jury is still out on whether the Jay School Corporation needs and can afford to build an auxiliary gymnasium at Jay County High School.

Advocates of the idea are pretty passionate and feel that they can make their case that another gym would relieve a bottleneck for JCHS athletes, a bottleneck that leads to later practices, earlier practices, and significant inconvenience.

But not everyone is sold.

Though the school board has been squirreling away money for a second gym in the capital projects fund for a couple of years, there's still a large gap between the available cash and the probable cost.

A bond issue and property tax hike are likely to be in the cards if such a facility is to be built.

The good news for all concerned is that this time around, the auxiliary gymnasium is being put forward as a single project.

A few years ago, the gymnasium was yoked together with things like the renovation of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system at the high school. In other words, a project some folks view as a "want" was bundled with projects that were undeniably "needs."

Not surprisingly, when taxpayers grumbled about the cost, the auxiliary gym was the first thing trimmed.

Now, however, it will be on its own.

And that's the way it should be.

Are county taxpayers prepared to pay for construction of an auxiliary gym/multi-purpose center?

Time will tell. The issue will be back before the school board in April and could be the subject of a Public Law 1028 hearing by May.

But at least this time there's an opportunity for an honest, focused debate on whether this is a "want" or a "need," whether it's something we can afford or something we can do without. - J.R.[[In-content Ad]]