Seventh-grader’s woes with Sears EDA

We, the students of District 300, know about the issue with the proposed extension of Sears tax breaks. I want to tell you how my school, Algonquin Middle School, has been coping.

My school needed a new scoreboard and since we didn’t have enough money to pay for our own, we had to have a contest to see which grade could turn in the most box tops. Altogether, the sixth, seventh and eighth grades raised more than 10,000 box tops to pay off the scoreboard.

Another thing we heard on the announcements is that my school is collecting ink and toner cartridges to try to earn more money. My school has never had us not write on tests, so now we have to write on bubble sheets. Now they’re having us do that just to save money.

My school’s Beta Club is collecting box tops and labels to raise money to try to get new computers for our school, which the school can’t pay for itself.

Why is this being done to D300? I don’t find it fair that we have to raise funds for field trips and that the school asks for money for us to go on field trips. Please give D300 a break and finally listen to us.

Also our buses are overcrowded. My classes are overcrowded. We have anywhere from 20 to 36 people in a class. And the school can’t fix our orchestra instruments. We have a closetful of broken instruments and they’re just sitting there dreaming to be played. The orchestra teacher has to pay for any new bows, strings and parts.

If we don’t get the money, we’re going to have teacher cuts and program cuts, which means no sports, no band, orchestra and chorus.

Ashley Hannah

Seventh-grader

Fox River Grove