A gym-dandy place for teens : Taxpayers make Potter's new $5.8 million gymnasium a reality

Dr. Janice Schultz, superintendent of Fallbrook Union Elementary School District (FUESD), together with Kent Borsch, president of the board of directors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of North County, presented the district’s new $5.8 million gymnasium/club facility to the community at a special grand opening event February 7.

They thanked taxpayers for supporting the bond measure in 2002 that helped make the structure a reality for local youth.

The bond, which totaled $32 million, addressed numerous needed upgrades to multiple elementary school campuses and equated into an additional property tax of $28 per year for every $100,000 of assessed value.

“We are here to celebrate; [the gym] has been a long-anticipated project in the community,” said Schultz.

As students, parents and members of the community listened, Schultz explained to the students what an assessment (tax) bond is and told them that the taxpayers of the community pledged their support of the project.

“The community voted to pay extra taxes so you could have this,” Schultz said, after which she asked the students to stand and thank taxpayers in attendance.

“So remember, somebody did this for you,” she said. “Remember that in the future if you are asked to do it.”

With the smell of fresh paint and varnish still in the air, the students’ pride was evident.

“I am very pleased that the gym turned out to be such high quality for the students of Fallbrook Elementary District,” Proctor said.

Schultz thanked a variety of individuals who were instrumental in the construction of the gymnasium and said the district partnered with the Boys & Girls Clubs of North County in the project.

FUESD Business Manager Ray Proctor explained, in a telephone interview, that the partnership with the Boys & Girls Club allowed the district to apply for and secure $1.5 million in Joint Use funds from the state toward the construction cost.

The Boys & Girls Club uses a 2,000-square-foot portion of the building as its new teen center/after-school facility for Potter students.

“We want to thank the Fallbrook Elementary District for allowing the Boys & Girls Club to partner on this great facility,” said Borsch.

The new teen center features a 60-inch television and surround sound, thanks to a $2,000 donation from Time Warner Cable.

Combined with brand new flat-screen computers with high-speed connections, a regulation-size billiard table, foosball, bumper pool, game software like X-Box and PS3, comfortable couches and plenty of room to do homework, teens who were in the center voiced their enthusiasm.

“It has a lot of fun games and entertainment. It’s a really nice place to be,” said Eduardo Sanchez, age 13.

“The games and activities they get us into are really fun. We are able to earn points and get prizes,” said 13-year old Javier Gonzalez.

In designing the new teen center, Boys & Girls Club associate Lisa Ware said she traveled to other facilities throughout the state – Chico, Sacramento, Carlsbad, Santee and San Marcos – to get ideas. The field work appears to have paid off.

“We have really good stuff in here and it is such a nice building,” said Mathew Kressin, 13. And better yet, it’s just a few steps away when class lets out every afternoon.

“It is so much better to have [the center] here because we don’t need to take the bus; it’s easier. We are also able to watch the [sports] games; it’s awesome,” said Joey Mastrangelo, 12.

Open Monday through Friday from 3 to 6:30 p.m., with adjusted hours for early dismissal days, all it takes for a Potter student to attend the center is a yearly ($30) membership to the Boys & Girls Club.

Ware said the popularity of the center is growing.

“We currently have about 50 kids coming here,” she said. “We are required to have a 20 to 1 ratio of supervision, but currently we have four staff members for the 50 kids.”

Borsch said the Boys & Girls Club will use the facility for physical education and exercise, arts and crafts, tutoring, league sports play, homework and more. In addition, three outdoor handball courts have been built into the exterior of the building.

Bond Oversight Committee Chairperson and community volunteer Wil Gower attended the grand opening event and enthusiastically inspected the finished project.

“This was something I emphasized, a number one priority, to build the gym,” Gower said. “It is so important for the kids this age to have this. It keeps them busy or else they will be in trouble. And it makes them realize the school, their parents and the community support them.”

Community volunteer Betsey Levering agreed with Gower. “This is what Fallbrook parents and members of the community voted for,” she said.

After a 12-month construction process, FUESD Board of Trustees President Maurice Bernier perhaps summed it up best: “A lot of time and effort has gone into this. It is an example of the community working together.”