Benjamin Franklin tells about when he was a boy seeing a bright shiny whistle and paying all that he had for it. Then he went around blowing it all afternoon. Come evening, he had tired of it and regretted his decision, saying he “had paid too much for the whistle.”
The OPRF High School board and administration should think about this.
They are considering the bright shiny whistle of Project 2. This features a 25-yard by 40-yard pool with eight lanes. The (2018) estimate is $64.5 million. Initial gratification for some like the pool lobby, but then buyer’s remorse for us taxpayers will set in.
We will all see that the board and administration have paid too much for their whistle. Especially when you consider the academic needs of Phases 3 through 5, which will be further delayed, perhaps for decades if District 200 spends excessively on Project 2.
Let’s not pay too much for the Project 2 whistle and rethink more pressing educational priorities. After all, swimming is but a very small part of the high school educational experience.
Charles Chauncey Wells
Oak Park