Think about your favorite teacher or faculty member who you met in either elementary, middle, or high school. Now think about your favorite club or activity that you have participated in. What about that one class that you really enjoyed going to every day? These questions might trigger certain memories for you or maybe even current experiences. Nonetheless, if Kent City Schools had not had continuous support for its school levies in the past, you might have never have met your favorite teacher or been able to join the clubs you may have been involved in. Once again, with another school levy at the voting booths this May, Roosevelt students, along with the rest of the community, should support Kent schools.

Considering only about a fourth of the student body at RHS can actually vote, most of you will probably feel that this article has little importance or significance to you whatsoever. And yes, even though this article is directed to 18-year-old students (mostly seniors) who can vote, and the rest of you might not be old enough, you should be just as concerned and interested about this levy as those students who can vote. After all, whether or not the levy passes will have an impact on not only your education, but also on RHS’s reputation.

A question that some of you may have is, why should I care if the levy passes if I’m going to graduate this year and no longer attend Kent City Schools? Even though the levy won’t have a direct impact on most of you students who can vote because you will be graduating soon, it still should have some importance. Most of you probably have friends who are underclassmen who will still be in the school district for the next few years. Even more, some of you may also have younger brothers and sisters who will also continue to go to Kent schools after you graduate. If you don’t want to vote for the levy, it seems kind of selfish to me that you would want to jeopardize your younger friends and if you have them, siblings, from having the quality education and opportunities that you have had throughout your years not only at RHS, but in middle and elementary school.

The major reason why some people are less inclined to vote for the levy is of course, money. If the levy passes, it will obviously increase taxes for households. I know that some adults will definitely not want to give up even more of their money for the levy, especially if they don’t have children in the Kent schools. At the same time, the education that the Kent schools have provided should not be jeopardized just because of money. We high schoolers have the privilege of coming to school each day and using the RHS facilities to get as much out of high school as we want. We have so many choices when it comes to choosing our classes and activities. Taking that into consideration, along with the fact that we don’t have to pay taxes, it would be stupid not to vote for the school levy. If the levy does pass, you won’t have to pay taxes at this time and even if you did, the amount of money would be minimal to the first-rate education that students in the Kent schools would continue to receive.

Whether or not the levy passes will also affect the reputation of not only the Kent City Schools, but the Kent community. According to a Q&A sheet about the levy, Kent has had “a long and strong tradition of always supporting operating levy requests.” Why does that have to end now? If the majority of citizens in Kent decide not to vote for the levy, Kent’s standing as a community that cares about its children’s education will no longer exist. Neighboring cities cannot boast about the fact that they continually support their schools, and I would hate for Kent to become the same way.

I know that I, along with many other students, take pride in RHS and the fact that I am a Roughrider. Sure, there are days where going to school isn’t exactly the thing I most want to do, but I have really enjoyed my time at RHS, along with the other Kent schools I’ve attended. Some students from other school districts aren’t as lucky to say that about their school. RHS isn’t a dump and has individuals who put a lot of time and effort into maintaining our school. We students owe it to our friends, community, faculty members, and ourselves to vote for the school levy.