A Matter of Perspective

As you all know this is an editorial column. It is my opinion and my opinion only. The following is something I feel strongly about...

I’m going to be honest, I never liked school. I wasn’t into sports or groups (although I was in choir and even took algebra one year just so I could participate in choir because of a scheduling conflict!)

But I never liked school. Not really.

I was one of those kids who would have loved to have been home-schooled.

I graduated from Clarissa High School almost 39 years ago. It was one of the happiest days of my life.

But not everyone is like me (thank goodness!).

There are a lot of kids who like school. They like seeing their friends. They like groups. They like the challenges that academics and athletics and other endeavors afford them. They like individual and team sports. They just plain like school!

In April of 2022, school changed a lot for the kids in the Browerville School District when the gym roof began collapsing.

Their gym was gone in an instant and things changed.

A person never fully realizes what a gymnasium means to a school and to a community until it is gone.

The Browerville gym saw hundreds of thousands of events throughout its life from school plays and concerts to graduation ceremonies and dances. It was host to a funeral for a beloved teacher and coach Mark Perkins. It had been the place where people gathered for Good Friday services (years ago). It was the place for all the home games! It was the place for physical education classes.

It was a place where memories (good and bad ones, let’s be honest) were made.

It may have appeared to be “just a gym” for a lot of people but it had a life of its own. It grew with the needs of the district and then—within a moment—it was gone.

I can’t tell you how to vote on Tuesday, November 7, but I can tell you this, Browerville/Eagle Valley athletes need a good gym. They need a walking/running track to keep them competitive with themselves, their peers and other districts.

The students at the school need a place to shoot a few hoops just for fun. They need a place to blow off steam with a hardy game of bombardment. They need a place to show off their musical and acting talents.

The community needs a large-scale gathering place for seeing their children perform.

But first, we have to vote.

And yes, it will raise our taxes, however, I can’t think of a more worthy reason to see a tax increase than for the support of our kids.

I’m not going to tell you how to vote but I will be voting “yes” to the students of the Browerville School District of which I am now a part.