To the editor: The students of Barrington lost out on a great opportunity when the bond to fund a renovation to Victory Field was voted down.

Many people spoke out against it, citing health concerns, funding issues, favoritism towards athletes over other populations of the student body, and lack of adherence to proper protocol in obtaining backing from local governing boards. Some even went so far as to accuse the Turf Committee of “blackmail,” “bullying” and “stacking seats.”

It seems to me that these people were so mired in the minutiae that they lost sight of the big picture.

We need so many things for our schools it’s hard to even know where to start. These projects do not need to be mutually exclusive. Mike Messore, Ron Tarro and numerous others are working on a much-needed new middle school. Approving the turf bond was not going to stop that from happening.

I’m sure every school and every department has a list of items they would like. If a group of citizens organized themselves to ask for funding for musical instruments, science equipment, math enrichment or literacy services, I would support them. Every single thing we can do for our students makes their educational experience better.

As a board member of BEF, I helped to approve grants this year for the arts, robotics, STEM, writing, and audio-visual programs, just to name a few. While these grants may not impact every single student individually, they make our schools better and stronger and hopefully extraordinary.

The turf field initiative was an attempt by a group of citizens to do something else extraordinary which would benefit our students in an incredibly positive way — giving them a state-of-the-art athletic facility that would keep them on par with the teams they compete against, and which they could be proud of when they step out onto it to represent their school. The current field is inadequate, unsafe and embarrassing.

The health issues have been addressed and answered. There are no studies proving that these materials cause cancer. If people are opposed to crumb-rubber, there are numerous alternatives that can be used.

Funding-wise, the bond would have cost taxpayers $.07/year. Our school department has limited funding; I understand that. This was a unique opportunity for them to partner with a group of citizens who were willing to raise $1 million for this project privately.

The committee went through all of the proper channels and was bounced around for over a year, receiving limited support and guidance. The Financial Town Meeting was an attempt to prevent the project from being put on a back burner, or no burner at all, yet again.

People were so busy criticizing and shooting down the hard work of the committee that they lost sight of what was being proposed — an incredible asset to our school system that would benefit students for years to come.

Our students work hard and make us proud. They deserve better. They are the ones who really lost out.

Nina Robertson

Barrington