Thursday, December 11, 2008

West Bend School District To Build Fitness Center

I got a kick out of the typo in this article. 

The West Bend High Schools fitness center could cost up to $700,000 if prevailing wages and a sprinkler system is required, a subcommittee was told Wednesday.

   Of that, up to $220,000 would be funded with pubic money and the rest through private donors. One donor has committed to $250,000 already, and East Athletic Director Jeff Rondorf said he has a few other donors in the works.

   Paying prevailing wages is estimated to add $180,000 to the center’s cost, the Citizens Facilities Advisory Committee (CFAC 2) was told.

   CFAC 2 hopes, though doubts, it may avoid paying prevailing wages since the completed facility will be owned for a short time by a private organization — the West Bend Public Schools Foundation — before it is given to the public school district.

   The center is slated to be attached to the side of the South Gym adjacent to the entrance to the athletics office area. Much of its 6,272 square feet will have cardiovascular machines like treadmills, bikes and elliptical machines.

On the issue itself, does the district really need a fitness center?  Given that they are about to ask the public for tens of millions of dollars in additional funding, why are they spending $220,000 on a luxury?  The whole prevailing wage issue, which is a huge issue that drives up the cost of government, it moot if they just don’t build it.

(12) Comments
Posted by Owen at 0650 hrs
Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

  1. But—Teh Obesity Crisez!!1!!  Don’t you care about fat children? 

    Maybe they can hook generators onto the elliptical machines so kids can count their forced workouts toward their Obama-mandated indentured servitude.  *srednop*

    Posted by HeatherRadish on December 11, 2008 at 1138 hrs


  2. “It’s no secret that youth right now could use some physical conditioning,” Rondorf said.

    The West Bend School District also needs to “trim some fat”.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 11, 2008 at 1218 hrs


  3. These guys are REALLY bad at PR…

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 11, 2008 at 1223 hrs


  4. How come the “private” West Bend Public Schools Foundation gets its mail at the office of the West Bend School District?

    Wonder how much they pay for rent?

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 11, 2008 at 1345 hrs


  5. Wendy, my thought would be that as long as they keep separate financial books, it doesn’t matter. Organizations and businesses that aren’t registered charities will set up a foundation that IS a registered charity and operate both out of the same office or be a mail drop for it.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 11, 2008 at 1502 hrs


  6. They offered to open the center to the public on evenings and weekends, which might attract taxpayers who can’t afford to join the Y or a club. Practically speaking, though, I wonder how many adults would feel comfortable using a high school fitness center, which will be heavily used by students even at those times.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 11, 2008 at 1506 hrs


  7. wbman,

    Ask the people in Kewaskum.  They are having great success with their fitness center attached to the front of the High School.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 11, 2008 at 2139 hrs


  8. May I ask what “success” is in Kewaskum?  Is it that kids are more fit?  Is it breaking even or making a profit?  No argument, just curious.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 11, 2008 at 2238 hrs


  9. Is Kewaskum having great success paying for the maintenance and staffing of their fitness center?  Like Wendy, I’m just curious.  If they truly do not mind the expenditure, perhaps it is because they don’t have a million-dollar referendum looming in the distance.  Here is a very practical letter to the editor written this morning by a West Bend citizen who lends realistic insight into the tone of the WB School District taxpayers: http://wissup.blogspot.com/2008/12/thumbs-down-by-community-on-fitness.html

    Posted by GAMazy on December 12, 2008 at 0803 hrs


  10. Years ago Shorewood put a fitness center onto their high school campus.  The rec department that runs it has been doing a great job.  The place makes money. It is crowded at 5:30 in the morning til nine or ten at night.  The department that runs it has been regularly expanding the services it offers to the community.  It is making a profit and maintaining a successful business model.  It runs the pool.  It offers classes year ‘round to the community.

    Now people could have looked at this at the beginning as a luxury and rejected it, or they could have looked at it the way Scott Walker looks at inserting private businesses into the park system. 

    Except, of course, these are public servants running this rec department. It works.

    Posted by Mike on December 12, 2008 at 1028 hrs


  11. As I read the story, the Shorewood model doesn’t appear to be what we are talking about in West Bend.  They say that they might allow the public to use the facility, but it says nothing of running it as a profit center.  If that was the case, I might be more open to it - bearing in mind that it would be a direct competitor of several other businesses in West Bend that already provide fitness facilities.

    Posted by Owen on December 12, 2008 at 1108 hrs


  12. This is a typical case of a government “carrot-carrot-stick” scam:

    1) Good intentions - get people more fit
    2) First “carrot” - government grant for fitness equipment (taxpayer money)
    3) Problem - no space to put it
    4) Second “carrot” - partial donation toward building (never mind that it’s residue of exploding health care costs)
    5) Problem - need remainder of construction cost/site to put it
    6) Connection - find another entity that can benefit (WBHS Athletics Dept)
    7) Solution - whack the taxpayers with the “stick”

    In other words, government using the taxpayer’s money to extort additional taxes…just like Doyle’s proposed hospital tax.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 13, 2008 at 1630 hrs


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