It’s no secret that education is not our country’s number one priority. There are constantly cuts to our budget and it’s even worse if you live in Arizona. In fact, our state ranks 51 in education. Unfortunately, Sahuaro is one of those schools that often gets the short end of the stick. That being said, it’s extremely important for us to save as much money as we can and only spend it on things that are actually necessary.

For the most part, our school is amazing and we are lucky to have such a nice campus with an abundant selection of unique classes and great activities. However, like all schools, there are plenty of things that can be improved upon. This, of course, is where our money would come in to help us get things like government textbooks from this decade, a working marquee, and properly working doors or ceilings that aren’t literally collapsing around us. In addition to that, it’s also just nice to clean up the campus and give the students the best education possible.

It has come to our attention, though, that admin plans to spend over $80,000 on a press box for the football stadium. While $20,891 has been given to a Varsity fund specifically for the press box, the other $59,109 that has been allocated for it is the school’s money, meaning none of that money will be used on things that we actually need. Half of that comes from Gifts and Donations, and the other half from Civics money (money Sahuaro earns for renting out the school). This is why many students and teachers are disheartened by this decision and understandably so.

Making the situation even worse, Sahuaro only receives $38,000 each year to spend on classroom resources. Not to mention, TUSD is cutting the budget by $4.5 million, which will certainly affect our school and leave no room for excessive or irresponsible spending. That being said, do we really need a press box than only a handful of people will sit in for the five home games we have each year? Shouldn’t we save the money or spend it on something we really need?

Ms. Krause, English teacher and Co-English Department Chair said, “I love football, but it is a gigantic waste of money.”

Senior and News Co-Editor of The Paper Cut, Connor Fries said, “I feel like there are so many other things that the money could go towards.” In fact, he was so frustrated when he caught wind of this that he actually took it upon himself to make an appointment with Principal Estrella and then decided to take matters into his own hands to help find a way to raise money for the things we need.

He contacted Barnes & Noble and set up an official fundraiser to raise money and get new private reading books for the Finance Office, which will help out the English department. The fundraiser will be on Saturday, March 3rd, so if you want to donate to a good cause and help out the school, make sure to stop by and give whatever you can.  More info on this will be forthcoming.