Lots more to know about the turf deal at CHS.
Alan Jones had zero to do with it...not a penny of his money will go towards turf...directly or indirectly. Contrary to popular belief, he supports the wrestling program and not much else. Turf has been part of a longer-term plan that was to come in phases. Turf was included in the last phase, but the company approached CHS about putting it in and made them an offer they couldn't turn down The company is in Rhea County, and had a part in Rhea's turf...but weren't the primary manufacturers or installers. The company in Rhea (I forget the name) now makes and installs sports fields and needed a "showplace" nearby. One of their primary salespeople has a CHS connection. Also, the new Cleveland jetport made it easy for folks to visit and have a look. The money the City School Board allocated for the turf was in the "discretionary fund" already...but wasn't earmarked for anything. Some say it was a holdover from the new city elementary school that never got built...but that still needs doing and will happen, so that doesn't make much sense. Cleveland Schools are far from "rich", and spend an inordinate amount of money dealing with children below the poverty level and children who don't speak English as their first language...those numbers are exploding in the city system in comparison to the Bradley County system...so, no...to say the city system is "rich" is not close to true...they are over-crowded and under-funded. CHS varsity athletics are largely funded by parents and boosters...and corporate donations to the general athletic fund. This is pretty amazing, considering the low numbers of boosters for each sport (especially football) compared to the number of players. (Last I heard, less than 50% of football parents were members of the booster club) The original plan for turf was to mount a large private effort to raise the funds. That program was put on hold during the period that the new gym was being built and funded. Good on CHS for finding a way... A quality turf surface will benefit more than the football team. It'll benefit the band, PE classes, track, the middle school, and the community. Now...for the jumbotron..