When you live in an underprivileged community money always seems to be the main priority. Attention is fixed on how this money is spent and whether it has been used to the school’s advantage. Based on my observations I would say Pomona High School ’s economic resources have not been used correctly and attention has only been focused on changing the school’s image. This means money has been used to fix random, unnecessary things. For those who are unaware, Pomona High has recently received a substantial amount of money rising above the revenues of all other schools in the Pomona Unified School District and many would describe the use of this money as irresponsible and ineffective. The use of the money received from the government has been used in several locations throughout the school, such as in fence reconstruction, the football field, and the football team. The use of the school’s money should be prioritized in order to benefit the students.
The primary use of the school’s money has been used to help reconstruct fences in the school’s east parking lot as well as several other locations. But was this necessary or helpful? I understand the schools intention and although it may have been somewhat noble their tactic of fixing the image of the school was went about the wrong way. One of my teachers informed me their purpose was to stop students from leaving campus during class time, but the fences did not fulfill this purpose. The school had fixed the parking lot fences this much is true but did not repair the ones in the football field where it was easiest to leave campus. Instead, this has caused our school to resemble a jail, which most educators know distracts students.
The money received could have been used inside classrooms tackling the student’s lack of caring by providing instructional materials and giving the student a sense of purpose. Lesly Zuniga, a current 11th grader at Pomona High School , asserts, “… I do believe the money could have been spent in other areas of the school like purchasing new books or enough books for our students enrolled in the class. The school could have hired new teachers to help decrease the substantial amounts of children packed in a single class.” The reason Ms. Zuniga discusses the student-teacher ratio is because the majority of the classes have around thirty students with one teacher, which we all know is not the best learning environment.
The second aspect of the school’s campus which has been “revolutionized” with the assistance of the money is the school “stadium.” I find it unfathomable how a school with so many problems can use money so wastefully. A brief description of the bleachers is that they are green, wood (not our school color) and are deteriorating and look as if they have been used; contrasting our nice, metal, school colored bleachers. A camera crew came to Pomona High the year prior in order to capture the crowning glory created from the school’s newest addition, the notorious bleachers. On September 3, 2010 KTLA, channel 7, shot several videos of Pomona High’s bleachers with a brief discussion between our principal, Rodger Fasting, and Channel 7 news reporter Gayle Anderson. Some would describe it as lucrative but I describe it as saddening.
Lastly the school exhibits biased behavior when the money is funneled towards certain athletic teams. A percentage of the money has been used for equipment and other materials for Pomona High’s football team. As a member of the volleyball and tennis teams I have realized how important money is in order to improve a school’s athletic program. After an incredible season of Boys JV Volleyball, winning all but two games, you would assume the school would spend a couple hundred dollars on equipment for volleyball. Instead we are forced to fundraise for money just to buy team sweaters and other equipment.
Among this, other teams have had to fight to remain a group. Last year the tennis teams were forced to unite and help bring to Mr. Fasting’s attention the importance of tennis at the school. In response he claimed the team had forfeited the majority of their games. I had gone to many of their games and was outraged at these lies, and after a petition and a parent meeting he reinstated the team. Throughout this time Mr. Fasting decided to remain blissfully unaware that both the male and female teams have members which are on the schools top ten even number one of both the senior, junior and sophomore classes. The money which should have been divided equally was then funneled into the football team which has a coach for every two players. The school has also added several security cameras which I presume are used to identify cannabis users. These cameras exemplify how the school has used money ineffectively.
Above all, I would like to see the money used for more productive means by first tackling the necessities rather than the more costly unnecessary things. For instance, everyday during class time you see students walking back to classes shaking their hands back and forth, but why? This is because there are currently no working hand dryers in male bathrooms and one (of many) in the girl’s restrooms. Another place the money could have been used is in the classroom where many teachers are forced to buy their own instructional materials such as printing paper (a teacher is given a limited amount of paper) and tissues. In my opinion money should be used for the basic things. Among this, schools funds should also be divided equally among the various sports rather than just the football team. In conclusion Pomona High School ’s revenue should be used primarily for the necessities. Whoever is making the decisions on how the money is used should reevaluate and put it where it is most needed.
- Ruben Aguilar
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