Dear Voters,
I can think of over 1000 reasons to vote YES on the upcoming bond issue –OUR KIDS! For those of you who are considering voting NO in favor of building a new high school on the current site, I would like to address an issue which has been a growing concern- Ram Drive. In 1975, I started my teaching career in the Jefferson High School. It was a wonderful spacious facility with beautiful grounds. It continued to adapt to new programs and changing needs. It was evident that the school board and the community had made “preparing youth for the future” their top priority. I felt honored to be a part of that vision.
Over the next four decades as an educator at the high school, there were numerous changes: the school name changed, the district boundaries changed, educational methods changed, the street name changed, families changed, and yes, the world changed! We are now Greene County High School, growing technologies have become necessary for quality education, Sunset Road has been renamed Ram Drive, modern families’ schedules and less nuclear living arrangements have meant more transportation leading to more vehicles, and the world today has become less safe for our kids!
In recent years, we have had increased violent school threats and schools all over the land revised their security and disaster plans to include evacuation in case of violence on the grounds. With 400 high school students and staff trying to relocate on short notice to neighborhood churches and care facilities, the scenario in our community is far from ideal. The parking space is grossly inadequate for today’s needs and the street is congested to say the least. Ram Drive is only 2 blocks long. There is only one outlet onto a main road and the side street is not a through street, curving into a residential area. Now add another three grades levels into an already cramped space and you can see why this location for seven grades instead of four doesn’t begin to solve problems, it creates them. Not only would additional classrooms take up valuable parking, the daily traffic of more students and staff would only complicate an already risky environment.
So, I want to challenge the voters- If you are voting No in favor of putting the High School and Middle School on the current Ram Drive property, reconsider your position. As we look forward, I encourage you to follow the lead of those who had a vision back in the 60’s of giving our kids the best future possible- a future we cannot yet imagine. Vote YES for Our Kids and Our Future.
Sincerely, Jan Rosdail-Aegerter, Jefferson
