Editorial

District changes should not exclude community involvement

In the fall of 2020, Trombly Elementary and Poupard Elementary will close as fifth grade becomes a part of middle school, according to the district reconfiguration proposal passed by the school board last June. Although the district made these decisions last summer, they have yet to release a fully explained plan for the upcoming school year.

Groups of angry parents have emerged, such as “Save Our School,” asking, “where is the plan?” That’s a great question. While they have announced that Poupard students will attend either Mason Elementary or Monteith Elementary and Trombly students will relocate to Defer Elementary, there are plenty of valid concerns that have yet to be addressed: to which schools are special needs students relocating? Are fifth graders expected to interact with eighth graders? Are some former Poupard students expected to walk 2.5 miles to Montieth every single morning? Will there be busing systems implemented? Or before school latchkey programs? The fact that these questions have yet to be addressed publically, this far in the reconfiguration process, brings into question if they even have answers for them. A district that pursues this reconfiguration without a plan promotes improvisation, restricts potential and ignores community input. That is distant from the innovation promoting, potential maximizing and community embracing district GPPSS has been in the past and should strive to be.

Instead of continuing with a reconfiguration process based on proposals that didn’t account for all complex factors impacted, the district should step back. The best course of action needs reevaluation and maybe that means the initially desired action isn’t the best option anymore. There needs to be a plan that produces benefits outside the financial realm and emphasizes the importance of the student. If that means pushing off reconfiguration for a whole school year, then so be it.

SYEDA RIZVI

The art of having outlandish opinions

MY TURN

By Amelia Nowicki PAGE EDITOR Textbook conversation starters suck. They are awkward, lame and only meant to spark lighthearted, albeit boring, conversation. But think about this: Why talk about the weather like everybody else when you can defy (pop) cultural norms and be unique?

Having opinions that seem odd or contradict what the masses say are always interesting. Ever notice the reactions after someone says they don’t like The Rolling Stones or “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?” When someone makes a statement denouncing a pop culture staple, backlash from their large followings create a frenzy of feigned aggression and defensive arguments.

For example, I have an ongoing list on my phone titled, “Things I Hate.” Its contents range from Tom Cruise to Fage commercials, from low rise jeans to the “Peanut Butter Baby.” Despite how different these things may seem, they share one major similarity: They really don’t have a significant lasting impact on anything important.

These opinions have no effect on how the world works. They do not impact how a person views the morality of the world today. They do not perpetuate our current political situation, nor do they pose a genuine threat to any person. What they do is spark unnecessary joke arguments at the lunch table and promote unique ways of perceiving pop culture and getting to know each other. In fact, party games such as “Don’t Get Me Started” even centralize around this very concept.

While there is minor stigma around being that “one guy” who holds strange beliefs to be “quirky,” the underlying innocence at the heart of these pop culture wars is needed to keep things interesting. They are the creators of inside jokes. If a substanceless argument keeps friendships invigorating, then so be it.

YOUR TURN: How do you think closing Trombly and Poupard will impact special needs students?

By Phoenix Archer INTERN

JUNIOR CARYS REESE: “I think that by closing the schools, those kids will have different opportunities and will be involved with different kids. The curriculum could be slightly different for them.” JUNIOR APOLLO JASON: “The closing of these schools is going to negatively impact the students with special needs because maybe these schools are the closest ones to their homes and it’s going to make it harder for them to go to school..”

SOPHOMORE ROSE NADA HOUSEY JOHNSON:

“(It) might impact them emotionally. They might not be able to come to the closest elementary school which could impact their grades and how they function... I feel like the children are going to be impacted very negatively from the school closing.” JUNIOR TIANA TOMPSON “I think that the closing will affect their ability to travel to school safely, since they already have a mental deficiency. It’ll be a situation that’ll need to be mitigated.”