Boston School Sports Get Boost From Public-Private Partnership

By WBUR News & Wire Services
Aug 3, 2009, 2:01 PM
1 Comments

Boston school sports programs are getting a big boost with a new public-private partnership.

Pro and collegiate sports teams, together with several Boston-area corporations, will work with the city to boost public school athletic budgets by more than 60 percent, from $4 million to $6.5 million over the next three years.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said there will be an academic component for student athletes as well. “It’s a two-prong attack,” he said. “Through academic achievements there’s also sports achievements. I want them working hand in hand. A superstar in the classroom and a superstar on the ball field.”

According to the Boston Globe, the city currently spends significantly less on sports than state and national averages.

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Josie Patterson

The Boston Globe reported that Menino will oversee picking the new coaches – supported by an infrastructure of funding from a foundation related to one of the biggest construction companies in Boston. The confluence of construction, athletics and politics all in the name of helping kids is nauseating. How crass that during and election year Menino stoops to this kind of activity. The superintendent of schools should oversee the disbursement of funds in the schools, and have the final say in the budget; of course money is needed for athletics, as I am sure it is for many academic and enrichment activities, but why does Menino himself get to hand out the goodies? And what does he (or Suffolk Construction) know about physical education in schools? I don’t live in Boston and don’t have kids in school there, but I feel for the community of parents and students who always seem under siege by the political and economic agendas of others.Are there any journalists investigating this, or even questioning it?

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Boston School Sports Get Boost From Public-Private Partnership