The mark of a great community is evidence by the values its members share and what priorities are important to them. Seattle is currently faced with a dilemma over a new stadium proposal. This pits the multi-billion dollar industry of sports entertainment versus the needs of a community desperately trying to fund its education and community programs that are trying to stay afloat. This begs the question, what are the priorities for the Seattle community?
Over the last few years, our education systems including K – 12 and colleges have been decimated by budget cuts. Supplies are in short order for teachers and school buildings are falling into disrepair, further endangering our students. Passionate teachers are driven from the profession because they can’t make ends meet due to the salary cuts. Story after story in the media highlights how we are falling further behind the international scene when it comes to student learning. And it is not for lack of trying by the teachers and schools, but rather not being given the proper tools to promote learning (E.g. Smaller class sizes). We need more students to enter the STEM programs (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) in order to keep pace technologically with our global partners. Across our nation, colleges have put athletics ahead of education. Case in point, the highest paid employee of the state of Washington is the football coach, not a professor, or even the Governor. We can go on and on about the numbers of students and their lack of basic skills, in addition to the continued decline in standardized scores for reading, math, and writing. But the problems lay at the feet of our government and communities for making choices that have taken away the necessary funding to create the environment for the students and teachers to thrive.
In addition to our education system, our local libraries are working on shoestring budgets. How bad is it? City libraries have been closing for a week or more during the year just to keep providing basic services and staff are taking salary cuts and furloughs to stave off further cuts. There is even a Levy on an upcoming election ballot to raise money for the library system to plug the gaps. If more libraries close down, we lose the inspiration to read and learn that librarians provide to all ages that can last a lifetime. What are the long term effects on our community, especially to those in the lower income brackets who rely upon the library for their learning options if we continue to underfund this vital community program?
The parks system is no better with cut backs on employee salaries and maintenance reductions at local parks. Case in point is the Senior Steps Walking Program for people age 50 and over. I’ve personally worked with this group and seen first-hand the positive benefits mentally, physically, and socially that all participants gain from working in groups striving to achieve the goal of completing a half-marathon. However, this program is continually faced with cutbacks and de-funding such that much of the work comes from volunteers. It takes a remarkable leader and group to keep the energy going in this tumultuous budget environment. As the health status of our population continues to decline, we need more programs such as Sound Steps to help alleviate the tidal wave of costs that will overwhelm our health care system if nothing is done.
Over the last few years, the city, county, and state budgets have had to make large cuts to basic services. But, the billionaires are coming to ask for handouts to build their playground, which at the end of the day provides little true value to our community. While the proposal indicates that all taxes will be user generated (E.g. Those buying tickets), what the community loses is the ability to use its credit on municipal bonds for community needs because they would be tied up by the arena funding. While I can agree that sport teams can bring a community together when times are tough, at the end of the day, professional sports are just another form of entertainment. The facilities that are built for professional sports team remain vacant for over half of the year, while homeless sit outside these buildings for 365 days. So while teachers and community staff members are having their salaries cut each year and asked to do more with less, salaries for sports professional continue to rise at an astronomical pace. Even more astounding is that even with the large salaries, seventy-eight percent of NFL players are under financial stress or bankrupt just two years into retirement and within five years of retirement, 60 percent of NBA players are broke according to a recent Sports Illustrated article. The arena group looks at their deal as a revenue generator for the city in the long term and feels that is better than schools or infrastructure as they do not generate revenue. From a purely financial stand point that is correct, but should we only be looking at the dollars and cents or are there better uses for the financial resources of our community that will help us today and into the future?
There are examples of communities that have refocused their priorities. Finland offers free daycare to children up to age 7. They have also revised their education system so that their programs are geared towards the needs of the students rather than a standardized testing system. This entails more attention to students in their younger years to help develop their core learning skills and social equity, which in the long run, benefits the society as a whole. The Finnish system has made it a priority to “guarantee all children the safety, health, nutrition, and moral support that they need to learn well in school.”
There is a solution to this, but it takes courage and the will of the community to reset our priorities. What would it look like if teachers had their own Oscar like awards show to highlight the achievements of their students and were worshiped more than rock stars? Our current culture values dollars and fame over community, health, and education. It seems reasonable to use tax payer money to fund billionaire playgrounds only after all of our children have the school supplies they need, three nutritious meals a day, and when sick, they can be taken care of without adding stress to their parents. Until then, our community needs to revisit its priorities and take a long look in the mirror as to what is most important at the end of the day. I have nothing against those and their stadium proposal; I just see better ways to assist our community in the long term than a glorified Roman Coliseum. Should our community be more proud of graduating 100% of its students and having a healthy population or a sports title for throwing/shooting a ball around a field/court?
Well said! If we do not wake up soon, the lemmings will run the country on its way down the slippery slope of history.