PUT MONEY IN SCHOOLS, NOT JAILS

I am a seventh-grade student at Evergreen Middle School in Hillsboro.
My reading class was discussing the small amount of money that the
Oregon Legislature gives to public schools.

I don't understand why legislators give so much money to build more
jails when they know that people without educations are more likely to
be in jail later on in their lives.

One thing that I don't understand is why they want to build more jails
for those kids who drop out of school and become criminals, yet they
don't give enough money to schools so that teachers can do different
things to keep kids in school.

In order to keep students in school, schools need more money for the
arts and other classes -- classes where they could learn the things
that they want to learn more about. Kids in my school who are in band
can't take other classes such as home economics, shop, art or drama.

My point is that the Legislature does not give schools enough money to
pay for more teachers to teach more classes, so students can learn
more things.

Caitlin Keys,
Hillsboro