Most adults and students approved when the third high school was initially confirmed. But when the announcement was made that boundaries were going to be changed and that students would be going to different schools, that feelings of happiness were gone. Parents made their opinions on the modification very clear, but no one asked the people who would be most affected by the new boundaries – the students. It is the students who will have to adjust to the new schools and new people. No one asked them how they would feel towards the new schools they will be attending next year.
The Class of 2012 is the class that will be making the transfer from Neuqua to Waubonsie. Only a small fraction is making the move between schools, but those students have a clear opinion. A majority of the freshmen have the same opinion: the change is unwanted and should not be made. A freshman, who wishes to remain anonymous, stated, “My complaint is that the school district leaders are only caring about themselves.” This freshman is not the only one to share this opinion. Natalie O’Toole stated, “I think [Dr. Stephen Daeschner's] decisions were selfish and only benefited him.” Many freshmen do not care for this change and would rather stay at the Neuqua. Some stated that the class of 2013 should be the first class to make the transfer being that they have not entered high school yet.
The most prominent complaint of the freshmen is that they will be leaving their new and old friends behind. They will have spent a year meeting and bonding with their fellow classmates and now they are being forced to leave them behind. Another complaint is about the inconvenience of Waubonsie’s distance. Many of the students live within five minutes of Neuqua but now have to endure a fifteen to thirty minute bus ride to Waubonsie. Not only will they be leaving their new friends, but they will be making a longer commute to the new school. While some students are grandfathered to stay at Neuqua, their siblings are not, and therefore are going to Waubonsie. Now some families are split up because of the students going to different schools. Parents may now have to choose between the events that are going on between the schools.
While one child may be in a band concert at Neuqua, the other may be playing football at Waubonise. It does not seem fair to the students or parents, who now have to choose between the two schools different events. Also, many freshmen recognize that their parents moved here to go to Neuqua and were always promised to go to here. The students and parents, alike, feel blind sided by the change of promises and do not think it is right for the school district to make such a radical change.
Adults always have a voice in decisions, even if those decisions do not affect them directly. The Class of 2012 has an opinion about these adjustments. They are now being separated from the school they will have known for a year and do not find that fair in the least. The now Wildcats will be the next year Warriors. The rivalry has never been more complex between the schools.
By Rachel Vaca, staff writer
