A few weeks ago, I asked you folks to tell me how, specifically, PHS Central's physical facilities was inferior to PHS North facilities. We've all heard so much complaining about this over the past few years, but no one ever comes out and says exactingly what the PLSD should do to fix the problem, if there is one.
The results of my request were surprising, even to me. All agreed that there are areas in which PHS North has an edge over PHS Central. But there are other areas in which, it appears, PHS Central has a clear edge over PHS North -- so many areas, in fact, that it is hard to say which high school has the better facilities.
I summed up, at the end of the chain, all the postings that were made on this topic at the time. I'll repeat it here, since some folks seem to have more to say on the subject. I invite your further comments. But please don't simply repeat what already has been said. Comment only if you have something to add. You might also take a crack at the questions I posed at the end of my summary.
It would be good, finally, to get to the bottom of this, so that we can either do something about it, or lay it finally to rest.
Here's my summary from several weeks ago:
According to you folks, PHS North's advantages over PHS Central all have to do with the former's outdoor athletics facilities. North has more tracks, larger football stands, a better football concession stand (including lavatories), and a separate soccer stadium. Some feel that the PHS North football field weathers better than PHS Centrals but, when I drove by them both late last fall, they both looked pretty chopped up to me.
Both high schools have tennis courts, but PHS Central's, unlike PHS North's, are not easily accessible to junior highschoolers. PHS North also may have bigger and better weight and training rooms.
On the other hand, PHS Central's field house arguably is superior to PHS North's (the Central field house is larger and has an indoor track, unlike North's). PHS Central also has a better softball complex that, unlike PHS North's, has a concession stand. PHS Central, in the judgment of some, also has a superior gymnasium, and is a better venue for basketball games.
Some people (myself included) prefer Central's performing arts center to North's (North's looks like a high school auditorium, though it has more leg room; Central's looks like a theatre, probably has better accoustics and, because it is more vertical, brings the back row closer to the stage and gives everyone a better view). PHS Central has easier access to the local public library, arguably has a superior and more usable commons and, at least in some respects, has superior educational technology.
Beyond this, PHS North has a fancier, and brickier, exterior, seems to have more parking space, and certainly has better parking space for football games (no one has to park on the grass). It probably has more ''curb appeal.''
So where does this leave us? Does this suggest that the PLSD did not really get much for all the extra money it spent on PHS North? Does it suggest that, after PHS North, the PLSD really did need to look for new architects and a new construction manager? Does it suggest that all the acrimony that has been expressed, on this web site and elsewhere, about PHS North's clear superiority to PHS Central, is just a bit overblown?
By Yosemite Pam
The results of my request were surprising, even to me. All agreed that there are areas in which PHS North has an edge over PHS Central. But there are other areas in which, it appears, PHS Central has a clear edge over PHS North -- so many areas, in fact, that it is hard to say which high school has the better facilities.
I summed up, at the end of the chain, all the postings that were made on this topic at the time. I'll repeat it here, since some folks seem to have more to say on the subject. I invite your further comments. But please don't simply repeat what already has been said. Comment only if you have something to add. You might also take a crack at the questions I posed at the end of my summary.
It would be good, finally, to get to the bottom of this, so that we can either do something about it, or lay it finally to rest.
Here's my summary from several weeks ago:
According to you folks, PHS North's advantages over PHS Central all have to do with the former's outdoor athletics facilities. North has more tracks, larger football stands, a better football concession stand (including lavatories), and a separate soccer stadium. Some feel that the PHS North football field weathers better than PHS Centrals but, when I drove by them both late last fall, they both looked pretty chopped up to me.
Both high schools have tennis courts, but PHS Central's, unlike PHS North's, are not easily accessible to junior highschoolers. PHS North also may have bigger and better weight and training rooms.
On the other hand, PHS Central's field house arguably is superior to PHS North's (the Central field house is larger and has an indoor track, unlike North's). PHS Central also has a better softball complex that, unlike PHS North's, has a concession stand. PHS Central, in the judgment of some, also has a superior gymnasium, and is a better venue for basketball games.
Some people (myself included) prefer Central's performing arts center to North's (North's looks like a high school auditorium, though it has more leg room; Central's looks like a theatre, probably has better accoustics and, because it is more vertical, brings the back row closer to the stage and gives everyone a better view). PHS Central has easier access to the local public library, arguably has a superior and more usable commons and, at least in some respects, has superior educational technology.
Beyond this, PHS North has a fancier, and brickier, exterior, seems to have more parking space, and certainly has better parking space for football games (no one has to park on the grass). It probably has more ''curb appeal.''
So where does this leave us? Does this suggest that the PLSD did not really get much for all the extra money it spent on PHS North? Does it suggest that, after PHS North, the PLSD really did need to look for new architects and a new construction manager? Does it suggest that all the acrimony that has been expressed, on this web site and elsewhere, about PHS North's clear superiority to PHS Central, is just a bit overblown?
By Yosemite Pam
