School Budget Cuts

The economy has indeed received several devastating blows over the last few years. The greatest car companies have been through struggles, jobs have been lost and budgets are being cut back. Some of the budgets that have been cut include schools, in particular, my high school. We never really have had the greatest funding. Field trips and activities were and still are scarce, unless paid for by some outlying source. And graduation from the school gym was not exactly the classiest event.

But the new threat? To completely shut down the school. Well, this isn't exactly new. There have been rumors of such ever since I first began my matriculation through high school. My class was the first to make AYP which is Adequate Yearly Progress, often called Annual Yearly Progress- so redundant... This explains why we had yet to make it before last year. Anyway, in 2009, my class made AYP on the Graduation Test for the first time in the school's history. In order to get off the "Needs Improvement" list, this year's junior class must do the same... Talk about pressure!

However, before they have even had the chance to take the test, the rumors start back up. Apparently, several schools in our district will be closed next year due to budget cuts and my high school is on the list! Of course, I'll be gone by then but I will have no Alma Mater to go back and visit, no building in which I can thank the ones who helped me become the success story I plan to be. Additionally, this year's juniors, the same ones that have been pressured all year to "Pass plus, pass plus, pass plus!!" in order to save their school, may not even have that chance!

How can we prepare the "Leaders of Tomorrow" if they are not even guaranteed to have a school tomorrow?!!