EDITORIAL: Sports teams have a record of success

   We applaud the members of the Board of Education for wanting to get more Hillsborough High School students involved in supporting their school teams.
   But we are scratching our heads at the reason one member seems to believe is behind the students’ perceived lack of support.
   The board members began discussing student attendance at sporting events at their Feb. 9 meeting, when John Donnadio suggested a review of athletic event ticket prices to see if cutting the prices might help spur additional attendance.
   His comments were followed by Frank Blandino’s suggestion that perhaps students aren’t attending because of an “attitude of mediocrity” in some teams.
   We suppose any conversation about student attendance should first parse the various programs — obviously, the board members aren’t trying to figure out how to pack more students into swimming pools to watch the school’s Skylands Conference champions.
   We also imagine the board officials aren’t searching for ways to get more students to journey to the South Brunswick ice arena that serves as Hillsborough’s home hockey rink.
   So, we’re probably talking about football and basketball, which are generally the biggest draws.
   The teams have been struggling in recent years, but to suggest there’s an “attitude of mediocrity” is not only plain wrong, it’s insulting to some very hard-working students and coaches.
   Mr. Blandino owes the school either an explanation of his remarks beyond what he has said so far — or an apology. We’d be interested in hearing which teams Mr. Blandino believes hold such attitudes.
   The fact of the matter is Hillsborough has an extremely strong tradition in winning in sports — some years are better than others for each specific sport, of course, but the school teams are almost always very competitive.
   And that athletic strength is well reflected in the number of student-athletes recruited to play at many of the most competitive college programs.
   From football to baseball to gymnastics to track and field, Hillsborough’s stars are succeeding in their sports and in their classrooms.
   Perhaps the review of ticket prices suggested by Mr. Donnadio will identify some ways to draw more students to games, but with most events at one or two dollars for students’ admission, it’s not likely to result in much.
   Such a review is certainly going to be more beneficial to the programs than Mr. Blandino’s charge.
   It’s always good for the Board of Education to consider programs from students’ points of view, and to periodically review policies.
   But let’s make sure we’re starting from an informed and honest perspective —especially before pointing fingers.