(Is it getting contagious for poor school districts to splurge millions to acquire a megatron scoreboard for their stadiums while teachers cry out for supplies and their facilities continue to deteriorate?
Brownsville Independent School District has taken the plunge on the vague promise that the $1.4 million (originally $600,000) will "pay for itself" through sponsorships from local businesses. That, apparently, is the hook for school districts to bite. Now the Raymondville ISD is about to take the plunge for a more modest $600,000 board. Can they – one of the poorest disticts in the state and country – justify this extravagance.
Additionally, they are planning to use the BuyBoard method to purchase the board, a convenient way that lets them bypass the bidding process, as BISD did.
An informal poll conducted by the Valley Morning Star indicates little support for the move. It's a shame that the BISD's choice to splurge on a $1.4 million board wasn't put to a referendum to see if the voters wanted one or not. To read the story in the VMS outlining the planned purchase of the megatron board, click on link below.)