Inequality Is Evident With Flip of a Switch

"It's a pattern," says Deborah Martins, 16, a junior at Sherwood High who has been rallying fellow students to lobby the county to fix up the Ross Boddy center in Sandy Spring. "In the more predominantly African American neighborhoods, they're just not up to par with the centers in more affluent communities."

Some residents of a new subdivision near Ross Boddy where houses go for $900,000 have wandered by to check out the center, says Janay White, another Sherwood junior. "The new people come and take a look and they don't come back," White says. "It's not a race issue. Our center just doesn't suit their needs."

After County Executive Isiah Leggett, facing a budget deficit of more than $300 million, recommended delaying the renovation of the centers, hundreds of supporters gathered this month to press the County Council for a quicker fix. When Council member Roger Berliner of Potomac proposed to set aside $17 million to rebuild the neglected centers, a majority embraced the idea. The plan awaits final approval May 15.

The irony here, of course, is that those with the greatest needs get the least, while those whose means grant them plenty of alternatives -- private sports clubs and the like -- get the best public facilities as well. This is the opposite of the approach in the District, which is nobody's idea of a recreation center paradise, but still: The city has put its newest, best-outfitted recreation centers in poorer parts of town, while affluent neighborhoods go entirely without publicly-supported facilities.

That's hardly a good solution either, but you'd think a wealthy community such as Montgomery could find a way to keep the lights on where they are most needed.

E-mail:marcfisher@washpost.com.