EDITORIAL 2
THE HARBINGER STAFF 2012-2013 a publication of Shawnee Mission East high school 7500 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS 66208
Editors-in-Chief Julia Poe Anne Willman Kim Hoedel Chloe Stradinger Duncan MacLachlan Assistant Editors Sarah Berger Andrew McKittrick Sami Walter Katie Knight Morgan Krakow Art & Design Editor Staff Writers Paige Hess Mike Thibodeau Managing Editor Emily Perkins Rock Jennifer Rorie Caroline Kohring Head Copy Editor Michael Kraske Matt Hanson Susannah Mitchell Assistant Head Copy Editor Taylor Bell Sarah Berger Tommy Sherk Copy Editors New Section Editor Anne Willman Sarah Berger Chloe Stradinger News Page Designer Andrew McKittrick Julia Seiden Katie Knight Opinion Section Editor Erin Reilly Kim Hoedel Morgan Twibell Opinion Page Designers Sarah Berger Greta Nepstad Matt Hanson Morgan Krakow Julia Poe Feature Section Editor Jennifer Rorie Hannah Ratliff Sophie Tulp Feature Page Editors Grace Heitmann Maddie Hise Morgan Krakow Pauline Werner Ads Manager Will Oakley Sophie Tulp Caroline Kohring Circulation Manager A&E Section Editor Greta Nepstad Tiernan Shank Editorial Section Editor A&E Page Designer Jennifer Rorie Megan McAlister Editorial Board Sports Section Editor Chloe Stradinger Mitch Kaskie Andrew McKittrick Sports Page Designers Anne Willman G.J. Melia Jennifer Rorie Sam Pottenger Katie Knight Grace Heitmann Grace Heitmann Co-Spread Editors Matt Hanson Morgan Twibell
Leah Pack Freelance Page Editors Phoebe Aguiar Sophie Tulp Alex Goldman Maggie McGannon James Simmons Audrey Danciger Business and Circulation Manager Greta Nepstad Social Media Director Mattie German Staff Artists Emily Perkins Rock Hailey Hughes Paloma Gustafson-ika Photo Editors Jake Crandall Caroline Creidenberg Assistant Photo Editor Maddie Schoemann Staff Photographers Erin Reilly Neely Atha Taylor Anderson Stefano Byer Tessa Polaschek Alexa Young Molly Gasal Annie Savage Leah O’connor Kathryn Jones Connor Woodson Hayden Roste Meghan Shirling Katie Sgroi Hailey Hughes Adviser Dow Tate
NOTE FROM THE EDITORS
This is our third-to-last issue. Don’t start crying though — we’ll be back next year. Well, not us, but some other editors will be taking our place. The Harbinger will be revamped and better than ever. We’re starting this transition into next school year with a face-lift — it’s like giving an already beautiful Blake Lively plastic surgery (wait, didn’t
she already go under the knife twice?), but it’ll be more beautiful than ever. So bear with us in this re-design stage while we adorn our bandages, and come back next year to see the production of our awardwinning newspaper continue.
The Harbinger is a student run publication. The contents and views are produced solely by the staff and do not represent the Shawnee Mission School DIstrict, East faculty or school administration. Letters to the editor may be sent to room 521 or smeharbinger@gmail.com. Letters may be edited for clarity, length, libel, mechanics and accepted or rejected.
VOUCHING for
Public Schools Kansas shouldn’t follow other states in the movement towards the voucher system for schools
art by Paloma Gustafson-ika In past weeks, two more states have adopted state voucher and scholarship tax credits. Kansas has yet to accept any of these programs which is the way it should be. Instead of using tax money to send students to the school of their choice, tax money should go to improving the public schools. This would in turn eliminate the need for both school choice and scholarship tax credit programs. According to the American Federation for Children, there are currently 16 school voucher programs and 15 scholarship tax programs across 17 states. Often low income families are the beneficiaries of these programs. While these programs can be effective in getting students out of failing schools they also take away money from public schools who have already faced substantial budget cuts. Students leaving will cut even more funds that will give the schools a chance to improve. The Shawnee Mission School District has cut more than 28 million dollars from its budget in the past three years despite seeing a steady increase in enrollment. School voucher and tax credit programs could potentially cause a decrease in enrollment if enacted in Kansas. This decrease in enrollment could then bring even more budget cuts to our district. Furthermore, studies conducted by the Center for Education Policy have shown there is no overwhelmingly positive result from students in these programs. Last year 91.9 percent of students in the district met or exceeded state assessment standards in
reading. In addition, 91.5 percent met or exceeded standards in math. As a result, there is not much of a need for school vouchers in our district because teachers are already effectively educating students. Another problem with these programs is the religious aspect of private education. Since the majority of private schools are religious, school voucher programs create a violation with separation of church and state. By sending students to a religious, private school, tax payers could potentially be supporting religious beliefs that they do not agree with. This creates a violation of our First Amendment rights. Instead of taking students away from public schools, efforts should be made to improve them. Voucher and scholarship tax credit programs only act as a temporary solution by moving students out of failing schools. Money used by these programs could reduce budget cuts and provide more resources for students in public schools. This could then help failing schools and improve the quality of education they provide. Improving our schools is a long term solution, the one we should be focusing on.
EDITORIAL BOARD VOTES
FOR AGAINST ABSENT
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