Economizing Comes At A Price

Wed., April 21, 1999

Chris Bonner Special To Opinion

I saw a cartoon on the opinion page of The Spokesman-Review that made me laugh and made me ashamed. The cartoonist was saying that Boundary County’s schools aren’t as advanced as those in counties that have more money and more people.

It’s true that Boundary County students such as myself are being held back by the poor buildings and lack of money for equipment.

But there are many students here who have a very bright future ahead of them. I know of students who have the brain capacity of a senior in college. I know of artists who paint, in my opinion, better than Leonardo. I have heard beautiful music sung, played and composed by students. I have heard the coolest poetry in my life while in Bonners Ferry. But the lack of funding has held these gifted students back by not giving them the proper experiences to excel.

I know you’re thinking I’m a “born and raised in Hicksville” kinda guy. Not at all. I have spent a lot of time in the Scottsdale School District - the “good” part of Phoenix. I have gone to school in California. I also hope to go to the Air Force Academy. But, again, the finances of my school, which can’t afford to offer ROTC, have hindered me in my quest to be an Air Force pilot.

Our scholastic program is failing. I’m suprised we still have football and that the junior high hasn’t fallen apart. I remember standing next to the wall in the lunch line at the junior high and watching students pull bricks out of the wall.

If a levy eventually passes, it will not affect me. But I do have a sister in the fourth grade and I do not want her to go to unsafe schools such as the junior high. We cannot afford to give my sister home schooling.

The schools have helped us with their free-lunch programs. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have food in my stomach until late at night. But the school also is hindering us. The school system is getting so bad that even my father wants to move to a better location. We have given up good jobs, family, friends and our education so that we can live in the beautiful area of the Northwest.

If you had asked me a month ago what I thought about Bonners Ferry, I would have laughed and compared it to a toxic waste dump. Now I have opened my eyes. I have seen that there are talent and brains up here after all. Too bad they’re going to waste.

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