The bleachers at Lakeland High School were filled with people who were there to ask to give the levy another chance for their jobs and kids. They were people longing for answers about what was going to happen to their school district.
The board met on November 13. The meeting was open to the public, and many people came and spoke about the levy.
With the levy failing, teachers are worried about the future of their jobs. Parents are concerned about how their children’s education and extracurriculars will look without the money that the school district severely needs.
As a student, I wanted to know what my senior year would look like without this money.
Since freshman year, I have participated in clubs and sports and would like to continue.
Chris Beaty brought up a data analysis, which showed that the levy failed by 0.6 percent. The communities that have had the higher votes to defund the district are Athol and Spirit Lake.
Tina Hillman is the president of the Lakeland Booster Club. The club was able to give $100,000 last year to Lakeland. Hillman asked the board why the middle school charges more than the high school.
Hillman also told the board they must do a better job working with the booster club.
Educator, community member, and parent Shannon Rider also emphasized that the community and the board need to fight for our children.
“They deserve a high-quality education,” Shannon Rider said.
“Our community needs to understand that without these levy dollars, the district and opportunities will change dramatically,” she added.
She was not the only parent and teacher who had concerns about the children’s and students’ future. Colleen Bevacqua, an LHS teacher, alumni, and parent, said that she is very concerned for her two sons, who are at LHS and Lakeland Junior High School.
“I want my boys to have the same opportunity I had,”
Rebecca Hasz, the LHS teacher and parent, said her daughter graduated from Lakeland last year and that she thrived because of the various extracurriculars and programs at the high school. Without a solution to the current problem, she fears her younger son will not have access to the same opportunities.
One speaker, Roger, said he was going to vote no until he attended a meeting last year. At that meeting, he learned about how the school district was run and changed his vote to yes. He said he believed the levy needed to be re-run.
The board did not take any action on these comments.
I liked what the parents and teachers said about supporting their school. However, I would still like to know how the board plans to find more than $9 million without cutting a significant part of the budget.
As of now, I do not feel the board is giving us enough information about what will happen. People need to make plans if cuts are going to impact the community.
Also, how are students going to succeed without opportunities that are provided for us in high school?
Lakeland has given me so many extracurriculars that I truly love. I have grown bonds with my teachers and peers, and I would not like to go into senior year without having the things I enjoy about school.
The levy needs to be re-run. These opportunities need to continue to be provided for students like me.
