Shannon Says: Astroturf is EEEEEEEEVIL!

Here’s the Moore County School Board work session from August 4.  The whole blasted thing is more than three hours long. I’m sure that is part of what keeps so many good people from filing for a seat on that board.   

If you read our site regularly, you ought to be familiar with board member Shannon Davis.  We had her on tape during a public meeting denying that she said a particular something during a previous public meeting (which was also recorded).

Shannon ran her first and only campaign for school board as part of a ticket promising to – if elected – take power from the bureaucrats and give it to the parents and other taxpayers.  Not long after being elected, she went on record saying that the superintendent is always right and she will vote FOR anything and everything he wants. (She’ll be on the ballot for reelection next year.) 

At the 8/4 meeting, there was discussion about the athletic fields at Union Pines and North Moore high schools.  Fields at both locations are natural grass and become a huge mess with even moderate rainfall. Both schools have had to reschedule events or change playing locations at the last minute on a number of occasions thanks to field conditions.

Long-time Moore Countians tell us that putting artificial turf on those fields has been an on-going discussion for multiple decades. Unfortunately, nothing ever happened. We’ve been told money has been set aside for turfing the fields in previous years, but it never managed to get spent on its intended purpose. Thanks to decades of rubber-stamping spectators on the county school board, no one has ever bothered to demand details on where the money went.  The edu-crats, we understand, aren’t exactly jumping at the chance to tell.

If you so desire, you can click here to watch the full meeting from 8/4.  If you want to see the part we’re discussing here, fast-forward to the 3 hour, 20 minute mark. 

The superintendent reported to the board that the county commissioners had offered matching funds that could be used toward the turfing project.  County leaders were offering the schools $600K in interest funds from the 2018 school bond issue. The hitch?  The schools have to come up with $600K themselves in order to get the county money. If the schools can’t come up with $600K themselves, the county money goes back into county coffers. 

The superintendent advised the school board to pursue a $600K grant from the county Convention & Visitors Bureau.  Various board members pointed out that another turf field or two will increase interest by traveling athletic teams to base tournaments in Moore County — thereby sparking visits and tourism. 

Our friend Shannon sat with arms crossed and (what appeared to be) a pout on her face for the duration of the discussion about the fields. The fun started when she got to speak her mind – rather, read something written on a piece of paper – about partaking in adding artificial turf to the two schools:

[…] “Based on the feedback from what I believe is the majority of voters, turf is not what the people of Moore County want.” […] 

Again, turfing the fields has been an on-going multi-year battle involving parents and alumni from both schools as well as tons of people in the affected communities.

MORE:

[…] There are various reasons or two of which are highly debatable. The cost and the safety. The third less debated issue is the traffic that would become in all areas of the county should we start hosting tournaments. The overwhelming consensus is that Moore County citizens do not want it and that Moore County’s various infrastructures cannot properly maintain it at this time.” […]

Wait.  Does she think you need to water artificial turf ???

*Did she conduct a poll?*

She’s spent nearly a whole term in office doing the opposite of what a majority of voters thought she was going to do.  Shannon’s apparently not that good at interpreting the will of the people.

MORE:

[…]”Roads, schools, police and fire departments are currently maxed out. This has the potential to forever change the footprint of Moore County even more than it has in the past ten or twenty years if we become a destination place to hold tournaments.” […] 

Lordy.

The roads are “maxed out” ?  How does that happen?  (What does that mean?)

Does she not realize that we’ve hosted multiple US Open championships over the last 25 years?  Or US Kids Golf – which brings players and their families from all over the world for a week of fun and golf? Or better yet – the North & South tournaments and the junior US Open tournaments hosted at the Pinehurst resort and other area clubs? 

MORE:

[…] “So, my suggestion would be to pump the brakes on this project and give the taxpayers the time needed to let both the the county commissioners and board of education know if this is what they want.[…]

It’s funny.  Shannon just got done rubber-stamping a $25 million-plus “alternative high school” on the Sandhills Community College campus — without even ONE iota of public input.

Also, these (turfing fields)  are the kinds of decisions voters elect board members to handle for them.

MORE:

[…} “It’s my understanding the visitors bureau will accept applications annually and this could wait at a minimum of one year.”[…]

The folks at these two schools have been waiting decades already.  And who knows if the commissioners will still be feeling generous and hospitable in a year from now?

MORE:

[…] “I just, uh, I don’t know that anybody wants turf. I think some people want sod and I think it’s a really big decision we’re facing and we should get feedback from the public before we decide.” […]

At the meeting’s conclusion, Davis argued to have the earth-shaking decision on turf or sod at Union Pines put on the agenda for August 11 as an “action item.”  That means debate and voting and possibly public comment.

I have to wonder — WHAT did artificial turf do to Shannon Davis?