Why District 87 needs to change the budget

Mohamed Amn, Journalism Student

With average SAT scores declining across across the board in Illinois public schools, something must be done to revamp the educational system in order to better prepare students for their careers. The declining SAT scores also correlate with a decline in the educational portion of school budgets. Many schools, including those in District 87, have seen a surge in athletic funding, with educational budgets plummeting. This year, schools in District 87 must see serious changes in its areas of funding if the school is to thrive as the educational establishment it once was, while leading the way for other Illinois public schools to follow suit.

To start, we must reduce the amount of money spent on sports and recreational facilities. With the football team constantly getting new gym equipment, new clothing and new facilities, we are simply draining our budget for minimal gains. As an example, a new jersey will not help a football player become a better leader, and it certainly will not help educate him better. It is simply a waste of taxpayer dollars.

Another instance of wasted public money is the addition of touch screen TV’s in the hallways. While students may have been fascinated with this technology for the first week it was introduced, they quickly lost interest, walking by the new TV’s as if they were the least interesting thing they had ever seen.They do not help make students better leaders, they do not help students learn and they certainly do not help the local taxpayers’ wallets. Instead, we could invest this money in hiring higher quality teachers, providing new lab equipment in the science department or starting new educational clubs and social gatherings. This would help students to socialize more effectively, while helping them to learn about new topics, and become more well-rounded, intellectual individuals.

The District 87 budget is inefficient and much of its funding is irrelevant to its educational values. Investing money in these new avenues are just a few of many ways that the administration could further help students in the Glenbard District 87 become more effective organizers, leaders and learners.