Dear Next President,

Ever wonder why the rich schools somehow win every meet or game? Ever wonder why the rich schools have better academics? Well it's because schools get local funding, which can be very bad on the lower income neighborhoods because they don't pay as many taxes, therefore they get less funding. I believe that schools should get more funding and that all communities in the state, rather than paying towards their own school, should have tax money evenly distributed throughout the state evenly. Why don't we pool all of the tax money for schools and distribute the money evenly to make high school sports more based on skill than what it's like now?

All high schools should get even funding for sports because it would make the sports more competitive. I also think that schools should get more funding for sports in general. USA Today High School Sports featured a story about Tanoai Reed, a stunt double for his cousin Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Reed moved back to Hawaii eager to see his son play football. His son’s high school has a very strong football program and is a source of pride in the poor community. When he toured the high school's workout facilities, he noticed unusable equipment that he had used at the school 25 years earlier and noted that the equipment was even old when he went to Kahuku High School. These kind of facilities make some kids not want to play a sport because it can be unhygienic, unsafe, and make a bad first impression. Another thing that leaves a bad impression on the sport is when rich schools with all of the nice equipment and gear pummel your team; students usually don’t want to play with a team that does so badly. If you split the funds evenly, you could make it more based on skill and it could give kids a chance to beat that team from the rich neighborhoods.

I believe that schools should get funding for more than just sports. We are having to cut funds from important arts like band that can actually help the brain develop. In 2010, Scientific American board of editors said, “Studies have shown that assiduous instrument training from an early age can help the brain to process sounds better, making it easier to stay focused when absorbing other subjects, from literature to tensor calculus.” So when arts are taken away from kids, so too is learning being taken away. The organization “Kumon” has stated that children who regularly participate in after-school activities surpass their peers in academic performance (kumon.com). Why would one lower funds for these activities when they are actually helping children learn more than they might be in regular class?

As Aristotle once said, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” This means don't make kids do only schoolwork and then expect them to succeed, let them learn in other activities that might be fun to them and in turn help them do the schoolwork. I believe that schools should get more funding and that all communities in the state don’t pay towards their school, but their state to distribute evenly. I hope you do good things and make America great again, even if you don't happen to be Donald Trump.

Sincerely,

Blair