Wednesday Meeting on MSI Soccer Stadium take over of Julius West Middle School fields

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really wish a certain person in Potomac had a different hobby.

+1 I really don't see what the big deal is. JW students will also use the field.

-signed a JWMS parent

Thanks for offering up the salaries of your teachers to pay for this! The $20K a year can come right from your classroom teachers.

It can or it did?

Personally, I wouldn't care if schools no longer had any sports teams. PE yes; sports teams, no. But this isn't the thing that I would raise a stink over.

This discussion is about PE.

Teachers seem to care about their salaries, tell them not to raise a stink about it. The money comes from their salaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really wish a certain person in Potomac had a different hobby.

+1 I really don't see what the big deal is. JW students will also use the field.

-signed a JWMS parent

Thanks for offering up the salaries of your teachers to pay for this! The $20K a year can come right from your classroom teachers.

It can or it did?

Personally, I wouldn't care if schools no longer had any sports teams. PE yes; sports teams, no. But this isn't the thing that I would raise a stink over.

This discussion is about PE.

Teachers seem to care about their salaries, tell them not to raise a stink about it. The money comes from their salaries.

And they can use it during PE. I know this because my DC is at JW and told me about the turf.

How do you know the money comes from their salaries?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really wish a certain person in Potomac had a different hobby.

+1 I really don't see what the big deal is. JW students will also use the field.

-signed a JWMS parent

Thanks for offering up the salaries of your teachers to pay for this! The $20K a year can come right from your classroom teachers.

It can or it did?

Personally, I wouldn't care if schools no longer had any sports teams. PE yes; sports teams, no. But this isn't the thing that I would raise a stink over.

This discussion is about PE.

Teachers seem to care about their salaries, tell them not to raise a stink about it. The money comes from their salaries.

And they can use it during PE. I know this because my DC is at JW and told me about the turf.

How do you know the money comes from their salaries?

PE is mandatory soccer? There are now only soccer fields. The fields will be 30 to 50 degrees hotter, so tell your child to wear short shorts and spaghetti strap tops. They are goint to roast at 150 degrees. Well done for a child.

Where do you imagine the money for maintenance comes from? It's the MCPS Operating Budget. They budget that funds teacher salaries. Less money for teachers when the money goes to pay for maintenance of two MSI soccer fields at your school. It's great your tteachers and PTSA are happy about this reduction in teacher salary funds, it's great for MSI Soccer.

[Anonymous]

PP is working very hard to try to persuade parents with kids at JW that they're wrong about their own kids' experiences at JW.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really wish a certain person in Potomac had a different hobby.

Good point. I hadn't made the connection, but it makes sense.

PP you're responding to. Seems like, after a while, one begins to recognize the style.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP is working very hard to try to persuade parents with kids at JW that they're wrong about their own kids' experiences at JW.

What experience? The fields just went in last week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
If a private company paid for round the clock use of a field the community used to play on, then there is definitely a problem - the field owner should have done its due diligence regarding community input.

No, it's not round the clock use, it's a limited number of hours per year, and the school has first priority.

It is round the clock. The fields are gone. Softball? Baseball? Football? Gone. The fields are now soccer stadiums. There are two soccer stadiums.
There are now huge stadium light poles all over the field. They are massive hazards to children running around. The edges of the stadiums are concrete. Don't
fall there. Play soccer or forget about using the playgrounds.

The stadiums are filled with silica sand a known carcinogen. Don't create any dust, don't slide, don't inhale.

The stadiums are plastic and will run 30-60 degtrees hotter than natural grass. Temperatures can reach 150 degrees well into late fall. That's a permanent 24/7 change to what used to be a field a grass.

How is this round the clock?

In exchange, MSI will have access to use these fields for a set number of scheduled hours per year for the next ten years, when they are not reserved for school use.

So when do the fields revert back to natural grass that can be used for any outdoor activity? Never.

They are round the clock soccer fields. They have a dozen poles all over them and concrete edges for concussions. JWMS students better love soccer. They can't play anything else in middle school.

Why not? Just because they are soccer fields doesn't mean nothing else can be played on them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really wish a certain person in Potomac had a different hobby.

+1 I really don't see what the big deal is. JW students will also use the field.

-signed a JWMS parent

Thanks for offering up the salaries of your teachers to pay for this! The $20K a year can come right from your classroom teachers.

It can or it did?

Personally, I wouldn't care if schools no longer had any sports teams. PE yes; sports teams, no. But this isn't the thing that I would raise a stink over.

This discussion is about PE.

Teachers seem to care about their salaries, tell them not to raise a stink about it. The money comes from their salaries.

And they can use it during PE. I know this because my DC is at JW and told me about the turf.

How do you know the money comes from their salaries?

PE is mandatory soccer? There are now only soccer fields. The fields will be 30 to 50 degrees hotter, so tell your child to wear short shorts and spaghetti strap tops. They are goint to roast at 150 degrees. Well done for a child.

Where do you imagine the money for maintenance comes from? It's the MCPS Operating Budget. They budget that funds teacher salaries. Less money for teachers when the money goes to pay for maintenance of two MSI soccer fields at your school. It's great your tteachers and PTSA are happy about this reduction in teacher salary funds, it's great for MSI Soccer.

? They can use the turf field for other things than soccer, you realize that, right?

Before they had the turf, they had grass, which requires maintenance as well.

Did they take the money off the salary line item?

What do you want MCPS to do about it now?

[Anonymous]

NP

Why is MSI pushing for turf so hard?? My kid plays on MSI and they should know better that turf is not good for kids.

[Anonymous]

MSI wants to be able to use the fields until 9:45 pm, with the 10 stadium lights on, 365 days per year. At least that’s what they have proposed in the draft MOU released to neighborhood groups.
Unsettled so far: parking, security, handicap accessibility, restroom facilities, noise, lightning detection, hours of operation, liability, trash removal, maintenance of field/cleaning expenses (as in, who is going to clean the deer poop from the herd that wanders around the property?), etc.
Yes the field is in. But since the MCPS rep specifically told the city manager that this construction was “not gonna happen” back in March - the neighboring communities need to have their concerns addressed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
If a private company paid for round the clock use of a field the community used to play on, then there is definitely a problem - the field owner should have done its due diligence regarding community input.

No, it's not round the clock use, it's a limited number of hours per year, and the school has first priority.

It is round the clock. The fields are gone. Softball? Baseball? Football? Gone. The fields are now soccer stadiums. There are two soccer stadiums.
There are now huge stadium light poles all over the field. They are massive hazards to children running around. The edges of the stadiums are concrete. Don't
fall there. Play soccer or forget about using the playgrounds.

The stadiums are filled with silica sand a known carcinogen. Don't create any dust, don't slide, don't inhale.

The stadiums are plastic and will run 30-60 degtrees hotter than natural grass. Temperatures can reach 150 degrees well into late fall. That's a permanent 24/7 change to what used to be a field a grass.

How is this round the clock?

In exchange, MSI will have access to use these fields for a set number of scheduled hours per year for the next ten years, when they are not reserved for school use.

So when do the fields revert back to natural grass that can be used for any outdoor activity? Never.

They are round the clock soccer fields. They have a dozen poles all over them and concrete edges for concussions. JWMS students better love soccer. They can't play anything else in middle school.

Why not? Just because they are soccer fields doesn't mean nothing else can be played on them.

They are not fields, they are stadiums. They have concrete edges and 10 massive light poles.

[Anonymous]

If this were in my neck of the woods, I would be willing to compromise on everything except TURF. Leaching chemicals have long term adverse health effects. This should not be allowed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really wish a certain person in Potomac had a different hobby.

Good point. I hadn't made the connection, but it makes sense.

PP you're responding to. Seems like, after a while, one begins to recognize the style.

Ahem. http://marylandpublicschools.org/stateboard/Documents/legalopinions/102018/Sartucci-etal.WestMSandEinsteinHS.Op.No.18-33.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
If this were in my neck of the woods, I would be willing to compromise on everything except TURF. Leaching chemicals have long term adverse health effects. This should not be allowed.

+ 1 million

Especially for Middle School fields! Do the kids now have to run their Cross Country unit on these damn turf fields?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MSI wants to be able to use the fields until 9:45 pm, with the 10 stadium lights on, 365 days per year. At least that’s what they have proposed in the draft MOU released to neighborhood groups.
Unsettled so far: parking, security, handicap accessibility, restroom facilities, noise, lightning detection, hours of operation, liability, trash removal, maintenance of field/cleaning expenses (as in, who is going to clean the deer poop from the herd that wanders around the property?), etc.
Yes the field is in. But since the MCPS rep specifically told the city manager that this construction was “not gonna happen” back in March - the neighboring communities need to have their concerns addressed.

There is money to be made. MSI makes good money from the tons of soccer playing kids. The population of Montgomery County has exploded in the past decade, so there are more and more and more families with more and more and more kids coming to the County. And, there is not enough green space, because green space doesn't make developers money.

So, this is what happens and an already overcrowded area gets even more overcrowded.