All the new construction at the high school inevitably raises the question, ‘where are we getting the money for all of this?’ While funding for public schools comes from property taxes, some disagree with what this money is being used for.
Principal Zimmer reports that the 2018 addition will include “a student commons, [additions to] the main office, band, wrestling, [new] classrooms, weight room, gym, and cardio room additions.”
While there are many new, exciting parts to the addition, there are still things that need improvement in the original parts of PV. Senior Varun Vedula expresses concern for the fact that “Health is important, but so is education. We need to be using money for quality in the classroom.”
Sports are important, but academics are the core purpose of students attending school. The fact that schools put special emphasis on athletic programs sometimes more-so than academic programs is not just a part of PV culture, but a part of the entire American school system.
It is true that there are many benefits to having sports incorporated into school: keeping students fit, teaching students leadership and teamwork skills, giving students scholarship opportunities in college and keeping students away from crime in many communities. The problem is not so much that sports are a part of our school system, but the fact that some schools (arguably our own) prioritize them over academic performance.
Not only is a large sum of money being spent on further sports equipment, but PV proves this to students on a regular basis. Students are allowed to leave class early, or even miss class for a few days at a time to travel to athletic competitions. It’s hard for a student to understand the importance of academics if they are allowed to miss school for a sporting event.
Overall, while it may be debatable, the problem is not the only the way PV emphasizes the importance of sports so heavily, it is the fact that it’s proven by funds that appear absent from academics while supplementing unnecessary new athletic equipment. Sophomore Paris Fietsam added, “I wish they [PV] would put more funding toward academics because there is nothing wrong with the gyms we already have, but we could make a lot of improvements in the classroom.”
