Open Letter

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Dear Board of Education of the Jordan School District, I am one of the many students that you have enrolled in your school district. Many of my peers and I have been disappointed in how you choose to spend your money. We believe that a lot of money is being wasted, and that this money would be better spent on the arts, extracurriculars, special programs, and our teachers. Worse, you keep asking for money. Now I understand that the 8 of you may not be directly overseeing the budget, but it is something that you should be able to change. I also understand that you may think that your money is well spent, but allow me to show you where the money is going according to a student’s eyes. Everyday at school, students come in, go to class, and then at the end of the day, we all go home. Except that we don’t all go home, for some of us it is better to stay at school for various reasons. So what do these students do if they stay? Nothing, unless they are extremely talented in a sport, or they made it into a play, which only lasts a few months. If a student tries to hangout in the commons of my school, they will be kicked out at 2:45, only 20 minutes after school gets out. There are some occasional after school club meetings, but these are few and far between. Most clubs meet during school either as a class period or during map. This specifically isn’t the fault of the district, but you can help. The main reason that clubs meet during school is so that teachers don’t have to do anything for the club, but if you, as the board of education, created an incentive for teachers to have clubs, and greater incentives for them to have clubs that do well in competitions, just like sports, then teachers would be more open to having their clubs be after school, so more people can throw in their talents. So where will the funding come from? Not from parents. Too many students don’t join clubs because it is too expensive to go on trips, go to competition, or to purchase the uniform. I

Null 2 suggest that the funding be found in the spending that is wasteful; paper, an excess number of printers, and textbooks. There are many other changes that can also be made, but these are changes that could be implemented and make a visible difference. I alone get about 8 sheets of paper a day, that is about 1440 sheets of paper that I’ll get for this year. That costs the school district about $7.20 for the paper that I get, but according to study done by Lexmark an average of 17% of any printed paper is thrown out, so factoring in the wasted paper, my paper consumption costs about $8.42 a year. This doesn’t sound like a lot, but another few dollars can be added for printer ink, maintenance, and replacement. I cost about $10 a year in paper. If this is the average spent on a high schooler in our district, then about $130,650 is spent a year on paper for high schoolers. If the district had their teachers transition from paper to computers, that they already have, then the amount stated above could go toward student clubs and teacher incentives. If each of the high schools had about 20 clubs, then each club could receive $816.56 a year from paper alone. If schools get rid of paper use between students, then they will not need nearly as many printers. Right now, almost every classroom has a printer, and there are many printers outside of the classroom. If students don’t use printers, then there should only be a few printers for faculty and classes where printers are mandatory, such as a design class. This isn’t to say that all the printers should be thrown out, but that the district should stop supporting unused printers with repairs, ink, and replacement. The printer of choice for the Jordan School District is the HP LaserJet. Each of these printers is worth between $119.99 and $2599.99, according to the HP store. Let's assume that all the printers are worth $120, and that there are 484 teachers (calculated using the Jordan School District’s statistics). Even if only half of the teachers have an unused printer, then there would be at least $29,040 worth of unnecessary printers in the school district.

Null 3 This money couldn’t go toward future investments such as clubs, as it isn’t a yearly flow, but a fixed amount. Instead this amount could go toward teaching the teachers how to use the technology in their classroom to create more pertinent lessons for students who are becoming more exposed to technology. By knowing how to use the technology in the classroom, teachers can foster a system that could go paperless and teach students how to use the technology that is now around them. The use of technology can also cut the cost of textbooks. These savings can go toward teacher compensation for fostering a club. According to the United States Census Bureau, 28.8% of children in the United States participate in clubs. These kids are better set up to succeed than most of their peers. That is why clubs need to be properly financed and the teachers need to be encouraged to take on clubs. Extracurricular activities help students learn valuable life skills and explore the world around them. A club can be the difference between a student, 10 years from now, being in their parents’ basement and being a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. A student can learn to be in a team, be assertive, set goals, do hard things, and prioritise. Coming out of high school, many kids can say that they had good grades and earned their diploma, but that will make them no different from any other high school graduate on a college application or on a resume. To stand out on these, high schoolers can greatly benefit from being part of a club and winning or doing well in a competition. Many clubs also offer scholarships either directly through the club or through a seperate party that takes notice of the club. A kid coming out of a club will be more prepared for life than they were going into the club. There are many more changes that could be put into place in the school district’s budget. Transitioning teachers and students from paper to already existing technology, getting rid of unused printers, and using digital textbooks can free money in the district’s budget to fund clubs.

Null 4 A great way to help the clubs thrive and gain members would be to give teachers incentive to host clubs after school and extra incentive for competing clubs that do well. I understand that I am no financial advisor, but I hope that you will consider my proposal and look into budgeting more money for clubs. Supporting the clubs will benefit the students, and your job is to set up your students as best you can for life.

Thank You For Your Consideration, The Disenchanted Senior

Work Cited Johnson, Ben. “Paper and Pencil Curriculum: How Much Do You Rely on It?” Edutopia, George Lucas Educational Foundation, 23 Feb. 2011, www.edutopia.org/blog/paperlessschools-techology-ben-johnson. “Number of Instructional Days/Hours in the School Year.” EState Notes, Education Commission of the States, June 2008, www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/78/24/7824.pdf.

Null 5 “Printing Cost Calculator – Calculate Your Cost of Printing.” UniPrint.net, 19 July 2018, www.uniprint.net/en/printing-cost-calculator-calculate-cost/. “Statistics.” Jordan School District, jordandistrict.org/resources/statistics/. US Census Bureau. “Nearly 6 Out of 10 Children Participate in Extracurricular Activities.” Census Bureau QuickFacts, United States Census Bureau, 9 Dec. 2014, www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2014/cb14-224.html. “HP LaserJet Printers.” HP Store UK, HP, store.hp.com/us/en/mlp/printers/laserjet. “The Importance of Extracurricular Activities for High School Students.” Crimson Education, www.crimsoneducation.org/us/blog/benefits-of-extracurricular-activities.