Instead of raising $8,000 from the community's tennis players over the next year to give them the right to use the Memorial Field tennis courts ('Attention: Clay Court Tennis Players'-July 8, 2004 edition of the Manhasset Press), the Manhasset School District should take an even more dramatic step. The School District ought to sell Memorial Field--which includes the tennis courts, acres of open space, and a basketball court--to a municipality that would keep the property open for recreational purposes without charging a user fee. The School District rarely put much effort into maintaining Memorial Field anyway. One potential buyer might be the Manhasset Park District. I was a member of the Park District's board of commissioners for 18 years and know that the incumbent commissioners have the management expertise needed to operate the facility in the public interest. This would also not be the first time the Park District owned the property. Memorial Field was sold to the Manhasset School District by the Park District decades ago to provide a playground for the Plandome Road School, which stood on the land that is now home to the Plandome Road Gazebo. In addition, the Memorial Field site would be more centrally located and cost significantly less money to acquire that the seven-acre parcel the Manhasset Park District wanted to purchase near Macy's department store. With the voters having twice rejected the Manhasset School District's proposed budget this spring, the Board of Education should really start looking at innovative ways, such as the one I'm suggesting, to generate additional income. Many of Manhasset's property taxpayers would also save money on the deal because a sizable percentage of the Park District's revenues are derived from commuter and shopper parking fees, as well as parking fines.