This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.

Come Up With a Solution

Most people realize that the biggest expense in towns and cities is the education budget. There is no doubt that it should be. There is nothing more important.

Part of the education of youngsters is athletics, and, in that area, Branford has much to do.

The high school athletic fields and facilities need to be improved, replaced, and/or expanded. Many of the student-athletes are playing on uneven, excrement-laden, and overall poor facilities. Many of the inter-scholastic teams, at times, have to change fields and/or times of games because of the above.

As an example, track meets are scheduled mostly away due to lack of facilities, and some teams must practice until 9 p.m. due to lack of space. These demands on our children must be eased.

A study from Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise found “student-athletes performed 10% better in core subjects like math, science, social studies and language arts.”

It is unfair to students, family, and others that many student-athletes must practice at late hours, play on poor fields, complete their homework, and then board a bus or ride in another vehicle before 7 a.m. to get to school on time.

I implore the board of education to take up this matter and try to come up with some sort of solution to improve this situation.

Ronald Comen

Branford