Kids, Taxes Top Priorities for Voters

People who came to vote at Hanover Park High School Tuesday evening were divided in their opinions on the proposed referendum for athletic improvements in the schools.

Rich Akos, whose two children are 3 and 5, were on his mind as he went to the polls. "By the time they get to high school, they'll have a nice field and track," he said. "It's important to keep up the grounds."

While he did not relish paying higher taxes, Akos said, "It's for the township. ...We have to take care of our educational facilities. Hopefully it's a good investment."

Cheryl Keane and Pam and Raj Upadya also said they voted for the referendum, because they think the project is best for their kids.

"I'm thinking long-term," Keane said. "I think it's a good idea. This whole section is a little run down. Anything they can do to improve it would be beneficial to the students."

Pam Upadya said her 5-year-old child might one day play on these fields. She said the project is "necessary and useful."

Alan Ellis's daughter plays in the marching band. Right now she practices in the parking lot at Hanover Park High, where yard lines mimicking the football field have been drawn to facilitate practice. "It'd be nice to have an artificial turf field to practice on with lights," he said. "It's definitely needed."

Tony Calderone, whose children no longer attend school in the district, said the fields were an embarrassment to the town. "They look like they need improvement. Where I grew up [in Union] they had beautiful fields. They were used all the time. My daughter played on great fields here," and other kids deserve the same. "If it costs a couple of bucks, so be it."

Calderone and others said improved fields would also help resale value of homes and the town's attractiveness to new families. "Ever drive through a town where the fields look like a cow pasture? What does it tell you about a town where they can't maintain their fields?" Calderone said.

Others, however, said the district was spending too much money on the project and that taxes were already high enough. Some said the district should have proposed a more scaled-down project, such as just improving the field and track without the bleachers or club houses.

"I think they're asking for too much," Bob Kelly said. "I think it would be better if they just did a little at a time. Instead they're going for a home run."

Polls stay open until 9 p.m. Tuesday.