Pioneer High School to receive $92,000 donation for athletic facility improvements
The Ann Arbor school board accepted a gift of more than $92,000 from the Pioneer High School Booster Club on Wednesday to help fund improvements to athletic facilities at the school.
Betsy Petoskey, co-president of the Pioneer Booster Club, said the donation will help improve athletic facilities and avoid potentially harmful cuts to athletics.
“Recent years have led to frustrations at all levels of public education,” Petoskey said. “Continuing budget cuts in athletics seem ill-advised and we worry that our student-athletes will one day be just the elite whose families can afford to pay for the entire cost of competition.”
Among the gifts the donation will fund are:
- New equipment for the new athletic trainer room and two new concession stands.
- Whiteboards for the new team rooms.
- A public address system for the practice field.
- A competition wrestling mat and a reconditioned practice mat.
- A baseball storage shed.
- A softball batting cage.
- A pole vault pit.
- Reconditioned volleyball poles.
- 3 platform inserts for the weight room.
- Main gym scoreboard.
- Wheels for the soccer goals.
Petoskey said the booster club identified facilities as the weakest link in the athletic programs at a three-day goal setting retreat about 10 years ago.
Among the proposed donations since then was a $3 million health and fitness center at Pioneer, which was denied about six years ago. Boosters announced their intention to raise the money for the facility independently of the district but the funds never came to fruition. The facility is now being built with a combination of sinking fund and bond dollars, which are not funded by the district's general fund.
Trustees unanimously approved the most recent gift this time around. Trustee Christine Stead said the gift will impact students for a long time.
“It’s remarkable that you’re doing this at this time for us,” she said. “We need these kind of partnerships more and more and we’re struggling to protect the good things happening in our schools.”
Kyle Feldscher covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
aanative
Sat, Jun 11, 2011 : 1:19 a.m.
Don't knock the boosters for trying to help the athletic programs at Pioneer. The real problem is with our legislature. I supported proposition A under Engler. All these funds were supposed to go for education. I wasn't a fan of Engler, but I fully supported this proposal. If we keep on cutting education funding all over the U.S., we will become a second class nation in a matter of a few decades.
Michael Psarouthakis
Fri, Jun 10, 2011 : 4:04 a.m.
Tony L. - Not all sports have that kind of legacy travel team or private club or coaching legacy. The crew (rowing) team is a no cut everyone races sport at all three Ann Arbor high schools. The vast majority (95% or more) of kids on the crew teams have never rowed until they get to high school so everyone starts as a novice beginner on the same level (there is even a novice racing category so the kids are competing at the same level against other schools). No kid is excluded because their family can't afford the extra fees. Huron had over 70, Pioneer 64 and Skyline over 40 kids this year on their crew teams. I am betting that all three teams will have close to 70 or more kids next year making it the second largest athletic team at all three schools and the largest coed team by far. No joking every kid rows and competes in most races. The Pioneer crew team has the highest average GPA of all the teams at Pioneer (not sure about the other two schools but I would guess the same or close). Kids from these programs have competed in college, junior world and senior world championships with a very good chance of having a US Olympian (Grace Luczak from Pioneer) in London in 2012. Many of the kids have gone on to row in college and receive scholarships with an especially large opportunity of scholarships for the women rowers. A Huron boat took a bronze medal this year at one of the high school National Championship races and Pioneer has a very competitive boat racing at another National Championship this weekend, all five kids in the Pioneer boat (four rowers and a coxswain) had never set foot in a crew shell until two or three years ago (two Juniors and three Sophomores) . Pioneer and Skyline raced in the Canadian National High School Championships this past weekend with thousands of people watching the finals on Sunday. I hope Huron goes back next year as well The gift by the booster club is great news, the facility will be a great benefit to all the teams
Tony Livingston
Fri, Jun 10, 2011 : 7:14 p.m.
Yes, crew is a good example of an inclusive sport and I am sure there are some others. But, there are 30 some sports teams at Pioneer. Sports like hockey, soccer, tennis, swimming, skating, golf, even baseball are very oriented towards privately trained students. It can actually be a very negative experience for kids who have played on local teams to be shut out by the travel team kids. It can be quite a rude awakening for both students and parents. High school sports are no longer the great equalizer.
debling
Thu, Jun 9, 2011 : 9:06 p.m.
Glad to see the community is putting it's money where there is long term value. China, India and Brazil say thank you America for cutting education but spending on bread and circuses.
DonBee
Thu, Jun 9, 2011 : 8:27 p.m.
Another $3 million in Athletic Facilities, and of course since there are 3 comprehensive high schools, there will need to be another $6 million over the next couple of years to provide similar facilities. At the same time that we are cutting teachers, and buses. A better choice would have been to cut the athletic budget by another $92,000 and put the money back in the general fund. Then use the booster money to cover the reduction in general fund contributions. Bu Bye Teachers, Bu Bye Buses - Hail Athletics.
DonBee
Fri, Jun 10, 2011 : 1:40 p.m.
$7 million dollars of school funds (all sources) went to athletics this year (weight room, football stands, general fund transfer). Cost savings from cutting teachers $7 million You decide which is more important.
JRMjr
Fri, Jun 10, 2011 : 12:28 p.m.
Why not celebrate the fact that people are putting money into a school system where there are needs? Athletic participation can really provide a strong support network and help kids understand the value of competition, dedication, hardwork, and loyalty. It is a great compliment to academic pursuits and I don't see how you can look at this generous gift as anything but a commendable act. There are problems (cutting teachers, busses, etc...) but that shouldn't mean that donations directed at other sources are somehow evil.
Tony Livingston
Thu, Jun 9, 2011 : 7:22 p.m.
This is wonderful. But, athletics are already pretty much dominated by the elite. Not because parents can't pay to join the school program, but because parents can't pay to have their kids in private travel teams, swim clubs, tennis, golf, etc. Most of the kids who are able to make the teams and actually get playing time are the ones who have had years of travel soccer, softball, baseball, hockey, or belong to private swim, tennis, or golf clubs. But it is great to see these booster club parents raise this money for the schools.