It was announced last week that Perkins Local Schools will be terminating 35 personnel positions for the upcoming fall term. That is a direct result of 7.9 mill school levy failing yet again. In fact, a school levy has not passed a new operating levy in 17 years. The school system is forced to cut costs even more. They are at the point where they are figuring out how to keep their doors open. It is very disheartening to see a community that does not want to support the school that many of them went through or had their children/grandchildren attend. I am a proud graduate of Perkins High school (Class of 2013) and I want our school system to be returned to its former glory.

I was strolling through the comment sections on the Sandusky Register and what I encountered was absolutely sickening. The things that people said on there were disturbing and I feel the need to address this. It is amusing how so many people can hide behind a username and computer screen. First and foremost, my mother has been a teacher at Perkins Schools for 32 years. 32 years of service! Seeing comments that teachers make "too much money" or some suggest "they are lazy" is just ridiculous. My mom is the hardest working person I know. She puts in so much time to enhance kids learning. She spends countless hours at home grading papers and making lesson plans. She has always bought snacks for kids that were not sent to school with snacks. That could be because of their family not having a lot of money or other circumstances. There are many other teachers in the district like that. I always felt like I had the hardest working teachers that would go out of their way in order to ensure that myself and my classmates were successful in the classroom, as well as life. So it is safe to say teachers are earning their pay and comments like that are simply not true.

Another comment I saw was "can't one teacher teach 30 or 35 students instead of 20?". I can't foresee that ever being a viable option. I can't even say that there is a classroom in the district that is capable of seating that many students. Yes, maybe that would work in the high school classes, where lecture is still a very large part of class. With any of the younger kids, that would just not be feasible. Can you imagine 35 kindergarteners in a classroom? Kids would not be learning anything because class would just be chaos.

Some have suggested that "sports and extracurricular activities need to be cut". That is just plain cruel. Sports and extracurricular activities are a get-away for many kids. Some students do not have a good home-life and they get through that with the help of sports or band. I have learned so much from sports. I could argue that I have learned just as much from sports as I have from actual school. Sports build character, teamwork, discipline, goal setting, and many other great qualities. These are traits employers look for in kids these days. I can't even tell you how many times I've been asked to talk about in an interview "when I have had to be a leader". It always comes from a time when I was playing sports. I'm sure some of the "no voters" have played on the very same fields or courts.

What kills me inside is seeing a community that is so divided. I don't think I have ever heard of another community making "Vote No" levy signs. Somehow we made that a thing. The funny thing is the people like that are the ones that will bring the community down. Companies are leaving town. KBI is gone or will be gone shortly. One thing you can always rely on is the schools. I remember when our schools were considered one of the best in the state. If our school system goes down hill it will only get worse. The people with money will leave and go to places with better education options. We will continue to be less and less attractive. Property values will go down, and more places will leave. I see it already. I would want nothing more than to work in the city that I call home. Unfortunately, that is not an option. There is nowhere for me to come and work upon graduating. I will most likely end up in Columbus or Cleveland. Places where their schools are being supported and industry is thriving.

Now, I understand people are on fixed incomes and money is tight. According to the Sandusky Register, it would only add roughly 28 dollars in taxes. That would be enough to sustain the schools. That is hardly anything. I would gladly pay that if it meant that the school system that has given me and my fellow classmates so much would be able to operate as normal. It is our duty to support the schools. We always support the cops and firefighter levies. We as a community need to put the past regimes behind us. Forgive and forget. We need to do what's best for our city. That would be to pass a levy and start supporting our city, and our schools. If you don't want to do that, you can leave. No-one will stop you. I'm proud of where I came from and I am thankful for all that Perkins Schools and its staff has done for me. They gave past and present student the best opportunities to succeed academically, socially, and athletically. I hope we all make the right decision come the next school levy. I want today's kiddos to have the same opportunities that past students have had.