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How are the High Point City Council and the Guilford County Board of Education getting along these days?

"Right now, my trust in the city is nil," board member Garth Hebert said Monday.

The school board has an "arrogance and attitude that really doesn't foster cooperation," City Councilman Latimer Alexander said.

This frustrates me as a voter and taxpayer represented by both Alexander and Hebert, whose district covers about half of High Point.

Got that? They both serve largely the same constituency. They ought to get along.

Not to pick on Alexander and Hebert, because their views are consistent with those of their colleagues on the council and school board, respectively. The two public bodies just clash, on issue after issue, when they should work together as much as possible for everyone's benefit.

The latest conflict reopens an old sore. The school board just rejected, again, the city's request for ownership of A.J. Simeon Stadium, where Central and Andrews high schools play home football games.

For years, city leaders have accused school officials of letting the facility decline. Parking lots are unpaved, concession areas and restrooms are substandard, lighting is poor, and accessibility for the handicapped is a struggle.

School board member Dot Kearns, also a High Point resident, accuses the city of misrepresenting the stadium's condition. Nevertheless, the proposed school bond package includes $2 million for Simeon improvements.

The city says it will upgrade the stadium, spending well more than $2 million, and let the high schools play there, if it gains ownership. Then it also could stage concerts and community events there.

It doesn't sound like a good deal to Hebert, an accountant, who hears the school board being asked to give away a valuable asset with no long-term guarantee that the city will do what it says.

Maybe he's right. City voters might not approve of spending millions for an aging sports facility. Last year, Greensboro voters rejected a bond proposal to renovate War Memorial Stadium.

But Simeon, unlike War Memorial, still has a defined, popular purpose. It's the home field for two of the city's three high schools, and when they play each other a good portion of the population attends.

Hebert concedes there's no guarantee the school board will put up the money required at Simeon, either.

Sooner or later, somebody's got to trust somebody.

Unfortunately, feelings run deep. Some High Point leaders say the school board was heavy-handed in forcing payment of red-light camera fines -- a windfall for the system that compelled High Point, for financial reasons, to shut off the traffic-safety tools.

Kearns faults City Council members for failing to support efforts to create a better racial and socioeconomic balance in High Point schools.

High Point and the schools have made little progress on implementing recommendations from a work force preparedness study that found glaring problems. The city was afraid to take the lead, Alexander said, because the school board might view its involvement as "the kiss of death." He added that High Point schools usually get shortchanged by the school system. Hebert disagrees.

Disputes have surfaced over street and sidewalk projects and police response to trouble on High Point school campuses.

In an e-mail to Alexander Monday, copied to several school officials, Hebert expressed harsh feelings:

"Those who elected me would have been furious had I even hinted at cooperating with the city that neglected their children." He accused the council of having "contributed to our very serious educational problems ..."

Can't this change? I'd trust the city to operate the stadium. I want the city and schools to tackle work force preparedness challenges as partners. I think the city should pay for safe streets and sidewalks near every school.

It's supposed to be about building a better community. Can the public trust these leaders to get that done?

Contact Doug Clark at dgclark@news-record.com and 373-7039.