NEW HIGH SCHOOL COULD COMBAT DRUGS

Granite Falls -- Why is it that the bond issue for a new Granite Falls High
School is repeatedly voted down? The answer to such a question is beyond my
comprehension. Clearly the developing community needs it, a fact that even a
student like myself can recognize. With rising enrollment and new people
moving in all the time, the need for a new high school is growing each year.

Many student benefits would come with a high school like the one proposed in
the upcoming bond vote: smaller class sizes, newer technology, a larger gym,
even an auditorium - a desirable improvement in the eyes of the drama
department. Currently, students are packed into core classes containing
close to 30 students.

A new high school would also help solve one of the community's more dire
problems. Methamphetamine use in Granite Falls is astronomical, a fact that
many associate with students having nothing better to do, nowhere better to
go. A new high school would provide kids with a safe place to go, and safe
things to do. So, with a town willing to go to all lengths to stop meth use,
why is it that a new high school, one that would be invariably helpful in
the fight against drug use, is continually voted down?

It is clear to me that a new high school would enhance our education, and
combat our town's drug use. But the students who can recognize this fact -
the people this decision impacts most - aren't of voting age. I hope my
letter has offered those voters opposed to the upcoming bond a bit of
insight.

JENNIFER DePREY

Granite Falls High School, Class of 2006