LTE-Rochester grant merited

==Letter to the Editor - Rochester grant merited== 
11/20/2006
A recent editorial stated that the $1.2 million in grants for the Rochester
Area football stadium was based on the "whim" of state legislators.
First, approximately half of the grant is for the turf, and the remainder is
for the other improvements to the overall recreational facility, such as the
tennis courts, basketball courts, etc.
Next, the editorial indicated that grants should be based on need. The
Rochester Area School District is third from the bottom in the county in
terms of budget. One mill brings in a whopping $70,000, fourth from the
bottom in the county.
Football stadiums are the same size, but available funds are completely
different from district to district. Some districts raise $2.8 million per
mill; ours raises $70,000.
Which school district could more easily raise $600,000 for turf?
Should the legislators of our district have helped those districts instead
of Rochester?
What is your definition of "need"?
Could we have raised funds from our own budget? Possibly, but charter school
spending will have cost Rochester nearly $800,000 by the end of the
2006-2007 school year, and that's only for these last three school years.
The legislators from the Rochester Area - state Rep. Mike Veon and state
Sen. Gerald LaValle - tried to help one of the poorest districts in the
county apply for grants to fix a 50-year-old facility.
I fail to see a whim there. By the way, our football team plays rather well,
despite coming from a poor district.
Dr. C. Dean Galitsis, Superintendent, Rochester Area School District
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