BOE VP Letter to the Editor: The Turf Field Debate

This letter to the editor was submitted by Haddonfield Board of Education Vice President Andrew Berlin.

Some thoughts on the largest gift in Haddonfield's history

When I was a small child, my parents owned a silver Buick Electra. Each morning in the winter, starting the car required an elaborate choreographed dance with the gas pedal and ignition, followed by letting the car warm up for a few minutes. If one drove the car before it finished warming up, it would stall when trying to accelerate to cross the busy street near our house. Back in the 1970s, this was considered normal - it was simply what cars did on cold days. Today in 2013, if one purchased a car that stalled shortly after starting each time you tried to accelerate on a cold day, it would be returned as a 'lemon'. Really there was nothing wrong with the old Buick, and my Mom would still be driving it if she could. Yet it is no longer the level of performance that is considered acceptable.

Times change. Expectations change.  

In the world of school sports, across the nation, schools are transitioning to turf fields. As that transition progresses, expectations of the coaches, referees, and players who visit Haddonfield to compete on our field are changing. We could have made do with the old Stadium field for a while longer - but realistically it has become clear that Haddonfield Memorial High School will need to upgrade Stadium Field to turf in order to meet the expectations that people in 2016 will have for a typical high school in a healthy town.  

About a year ago, a group of individuals felt that they could raise a large amount of private funds if the Board of Education and the Borough could commit to 'Turfing' both Anniversary field and Stadium fields. The amount that they could raise, which ultimately was $600,000, was sufficient to make it significantly LESS EXPENSIVE to the taxpayers to turf both fields than it would have been to upgrade only Stadium field using Board of Education funds. Donations are emotional things. I can understand why a larger vision than just Stadium field was needed in order to inspire this level of giving.  

Some would say that 'they' would have given the school the donation anyway, just for Stadium field. The reality is that possibility was out there for several years and did not inspire this level of giving. It took courage for the three Commissioners to stand up and agree to turf Anniversary field - enabling the largest gift in the town's history. This substantially REDUCED the cost to taxpayers relative to what it would have cost for the Board of Education to Turf just Stadium field on its own. In that sense, 'turfing' Anniversary field was 100% covered by donations. Closer to 200%, actually.

While there are many valid concerns about exactly what is being built, where, and how this all came about, the bottom line is that the largest gift in the town's history should be a cause for celebration. People from all walks of life came together to improve the town. As far as I can tell, many of the donors do not have children in the school and never will. They simply wanted to do something nice for the town. Their efforts and generosity should be celebrated. It is part of what makes Haddonfield so special.

Sincerely,
Andrew Berlin

The opinions expressed in the above letter do not necessarily reflect those of the Board of Education.