Misplaced priorities

September is here already, and with it comes the eager anticipation of football — prep sports, collegiate ball and the professional gridiron.

It’s more than a game. Many of the faithful maintain that football is a way of life. Fans plan their lives around game schedules and know arcane statistics about their favorite teams better than they know their multiplication tables.

For all the enjoyment the sport brings to those who soak it up every weekend, it’s still a diversion, particularly with regard to high school ball. Pro sports is big business, and many will argue that collegiate football programs are as well.

With high school sports, perspective must be maintained. Extracurricular sports programs must not eclipse the purpose of public education, which is to provide youngsters with the schooling necessary to prepare them for college or the work force.

That’s why we’re dismayed by an ambitious plan by a group of Northview High School parents, coaches and sports supporters to raise more than $1 million to build an athletic facility on the school campus.

Public education is plagued by chronic underfunding, and the current school year looks particularly bleak with state funding cut by more than 11 percent.

The shortfall for Dothan schools is expected to amount to more than $7 million, which will certainly have an adverse affect on academics.

The timing of the announcement of the project also bodes ill for those who value academics: the initiative was unveiled on Aug. 26, the day after the school board chairman’s seat was won by former Northview coach Harry Wayne Parrish, who is credited with conceiving the fundraising plan for the proposed athletic facility.

In the face of these challenges to the core mission of public education, the pursuit of a million-dollar frill — even one funded by private donations — suggests that priorities are woefully misplaced.