Bright lights, big noise

The school district’s lighting policy has once again sparked debate on the Board of Education.

At a meeting on Oct. 7, the board continued discussed possible changes to the policy, which governs when the lights on the field at South Side High School may be used. According to the original policy, all games had to start by 5 p.m. and end by 8. The updated policy would allow soccer and lacrosse games to start as late as 6 p.m., since they generally take less time to play. Games would start an hour later on Fridays and go until 9 p.m.

The policy also restricts the use of the lights to South Side High sports teams, excluding the many extramural teams around the village. None are allowed to play games under the lights, even if those games are scheduled during the hours of availability. They are, however, allowed to use the field until sunset.

“This policy eliminates the community use of the field with lights,” said school board Trustee John O’Shea, the policy’s most vocal opponent. “As a board, we don’t own this. The taxpayers own what’s out there, and I believe they should be entitled to the use.”

O’Shea said the policy should be eliminated. “No other district, no other township, has a restriction. No other district has a lighting policy,” he said. “I don’t understand why we still stand behind it when we had 800 people sign a petition asking us to revisit this so they have the ability to share in what they paid for.” The 800 signatures were from two petitions, one submitted last year and another presented a few weeks ago.

Gregg Spaulding, the board secretary, mostly sided with O’Shea, although he didn’t go as far as to call for the removal of the policy.

“There’s no use of any of our facilities in any of our buildings that excludes a portion of the services that are available,” O’Shea said. “And to exclude the community from the use of the lights, while giving them the use of the field until the sun goes down, is inappropriate.”