Tornado Times

The GUSD has proposed an initiative that will give many of us the freer summers we have always dreamed about. Now before you get excited, know that it is not for any reason anyone has ever dreamed about, the district included.

GUSD’s possible solution to halt its oncoming $50 million deficit is to allow students to retake courses that they have failed for free, but to have students that are taking classes to get ahead (such as juniors who take economics to later take AP Government) pay for summer school.

Price per semester? $175.

At first glance, this number seems outrageous and so does the proposal itself. That was certainly our first reaction; however, with a bit of thought we have come to the conclusion that not only should students taking classes to get ahead have to pay, but those that have failed classes and have to take summer school should pay as well.

We understand that many people may not be able to afford the fee, and that for public school, the cost is blasphemous. However, if the GUSD were to implement the policy, students would be paying for the costs of summer school itself—costs such as teachers’ salary without which there would be no summer school to begin with.

Summer school is a luxury. Our district has done a good job of allowing us to take a wide array of classes during the summer, and that is more than many other districts can claim. When funds are low, we cannot be angry that the district cannot pay for what it essentially is not required to provide in the first place.

Students who want to get ahead do not need to get ahead—they choose to. And although the choice is admirable, it is not a priority.

But what about students who have failed their classes and have to retake the courses? Should they pay? To that, we again respond “yes” because failure is not a priority either. A majority of the time, students are in control of their grades. Their failures are generally their own faults, as are their success. Why should students who have slacked off all year long and harmed the school’s image get a free pass to summer school while those that have done well and have benefited the school have to pay?

We are lucky to even be offered summer classes, since many other districts have canceled summer school.

Yes, we are a public school. Our students are promised a free education. However, funds are not endless. GUSD has been holding off on cutting classes for a long time, but is obviously getting desperate. Therefore, if it does come to having to pay for summer school, we must bear the burden, as in the end we are in summer school either as a result of our good choices, or a result of the consequences of our bad decisions. Both are ours to bear personally.