Permian High School was a football-crazed school located in Odessa, Texas. The football obsession does not stop at the student body. In fact, the entire town seemed to revolve around the Permian High Panthers and their season. Although the town believed the Permian football program was a necessity, in reality, it was extremely harmful to the community. Therefore, the football program at Permian High should be eliminated due to its negative effects.
The amount of money in the budget for the football team greatly outweighed the amount of money in the English department budget. A whopping $6,750 was spent on the team's medical supplies, while a mere $5,040 was spent on the entire English department. Additional expenses of $6,400 to quickly receive film prints of the game and nearly $70,000 for transportation by chartered jets to away games complemented the already expensive football program. The charter jet for the game against Marshall was $20,000 alone. The English department did not receive a computer until the football team had received its second. English teacher Larue Moore was a highly qualified English teacher with impressive credentials. After twenty years of teaching experience and a master's degree, her annual salary was $32,000. Gary Gaines, athletic director and football coach, was given a new Taurus to drive each year and had an annual salary of $48,000. Coach Gaines did not teach at all and had a salary much larger than Larue Moore's (146-147). Obviously, the importance of football was emphasized over the importance of education. .
The football program placed a large amount of stress on the academic program and the education of the students. The average SAT score at Permian was a significant amount below the national average (138). Football players were passed through their classes by the teachers, regardless of the amount of effort they put forth or the grade they should have actually received.