Bryan W. Alaspa 1A high school saved?
April 1st 2010 13:13
Just a few days ago I wrote about how the high school that I attended was about to close its doors. The school is very much in debt and has hardly any student body to speak of and is struggling. There are a variety of reasons why this might have happened, but what matters is the fact a decent private school was about to close its doors. But wait…
The board of trustees voted to not close the doors just yet, but try to raise the necessary money they would need to stay open. However, the school needs something like two millions dollars to operate and is about one mil short of that particular goal. The reports in the news are also that there are only about 210 students in the entire school.
This has spawned a kind of outpouring that is always nice to see. Facebook groups and pages immediately sprang up. People are going on various news shows on radio and television to talk about the school closing. There is a way to make donations via the school’s website. There is even talk of trying to find a way to make those donations using a cell phone like what happened with the various earthquakes. Of course, it being a religious school, there are also calls for prayer. I have a feeling that last one is the one that is going to happen more often than donations as it is easier to pray than find money to donate.
I think that is all very heartwarming. I like seeing people pull together. It’s interesting to see, even among the people who have moved away to other parts of the country, and have not visited nor thought about the school for twenty, thirty, forty years. Suddenly everyone is worried. It’s the old “you don’t know what ya got ‘til it’s gone” syndrome I guess. Still, it is nice when people do put aside their inherent selfish natures and try to do something good.
People call me a cynic. I say that I am practical. A cynical attitude, I feel, is the only logical response to the realities of the world. I don’t believe in whistling past the graveyard, but noticing the graveyard and acknowledging that what you see there, you will one day become. So, allow me to rain on this particular parade with a healthy dose of cynicism.
Let us say that, somehow, everyone does manage to raise the million dollars necessary to keep the school open for another year. What happens after that year is gone? Are things likely to change? Will people just raise this money and forget about the school again, until the following year when the money is likely run out and the place is in trouble again? Once again, people are being a little short-sighted (see my arguments about abortion and gun control for further examples).
Unless we are all expected to start some incredible breeding program that also involves whopper hormones to encourage rapid growth, there are not likely to be anymore students after this year is saved. Without more students, the school is just going to need more and more and more money every year. It will become like a black hole, constantly sucking up dollars from everyone. Eventually alumni will be stuffing money into an empty building.
So, it’s heartwarming, but hardly a good solution. I think it’s like trying to fight back the ocean tide with canoe paddles. Sure, it may look like you’re having an effect for a little while, but the pull of the moon is inevitable.
The board of trustees voted to not close the doors just yet, but try to raise the necessary money they would need to stay open. However, the school needs something like two millions dollars to operate and is about one mil short of that particular goal. The reports in the news are also that there are only about 210 students in the entire school.
This has spawned a kind of outpouring that is always nice to see. Facebook groups and pages immediately sprang up. People are going on various news shows on radio and television to talk about the school closing. There is a way to make donations via the school’s website. There is even talk of trying to find a way to make those donations using a cell phone like what happened with the various earthquakes. Of course, it being a religious school, there are also calls for prayer. I have a feeling that last one is the one that is going to happen more often than donations as it is easier to pray than find money to donate.
I think that is all very heartwarming. I like seeing people pull together. It’s interesting to see, even among the people who have moved away to other parts of the country, and have not visited nor thought about the school for twenty, thirty, forty years. Suddenly everyone is worried. It’s the old “you don’t know what ya got ‘til it’s gone” syndrome I guess. Still, it is nice when people do put aside their inherent selfish natures and try to do something good.
People call me a cynic. I say that I am practical. A cynical attitude, I feel, is the only logical response to the realities of the world. I don’t believe in whistling past the graveyard, but noticing the graveyard and acknowledging that what you see there, you will one day become. So, allow me to rain on this particular parade with a healthy dose of cynicism.
Let us say that, somehow, everyone does manage to raise the million dollars necessary to keep the school open for another year. What happens after that year is gone? Are things likely to change? Will people just raise this money and forget about the school again, until the following year when the money is likely run out and the place is in trouble again? Once again, people are being a little short-sighted (see my arguments about abortion and gun control for further examples).
Unless we are all expected to start some incredible breeding program that also involves whopper hormones to encourage rapid growth, there are not likely to be anymore students after this year is saved. Without more students, the school is just going to need more and more and more money every year. It will become like a black hole, constantly sucking up dollars from everyone. Eventually alumni will be stuffing money into an empty building.
So, it’s heartwarming, but hardly a good solution. I think it’s like trying to fight back the ocean tide with canoe paddles. Sure, it may look like you’re having an effect for a little while, but the pull of the moon is inevitable.
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