I’m Samantha Frazier. This is my first time writing my own personal viewpoint to a large audience. I hope I can do it right.
I’m in seventh grade at Fayette Middle School in Fayetteville. FMS is on the chopping block for the Fayette County school closings.
I’m not going to like it but I’m gonna support the school closings. What people have to understand is that there are things in life that you have to overcome.
I have attended the board meetings on Jan. 28 and Feb. 4 and my view lately is that, logically, it is necessary though it may hurt some communities.
However, the kids here at FMS are prepared. Instead of being mad and fighting for the school, we’re going to tell you that we have memories, FMS is great and we will miss it but we’ll recover.
It’s sad to say that some kids may never get to see how good FMS was, but this is just one of the things that the community will have to overcome.
At the last two meetings I have watched [board member] Mary Kay (don’t know her last name) [Bacallao] questioning other board and community members regarding the school closings.
First, I would like to say that I feel that her questions could be asked at any time and are being publicly asked at the meetings simply for the recognition that she will get due to the public knowing that she is against the change.
I think the correct term is for her own political gain, but that may not be the right way to put it. It sure does make her look good, though.
It is my understanding that we have a yearly deficit of nearly $15 million. According to the information from Monday’s meeting, Mary Kay proposes to save about $6 million yearly.
My question is, where would we get the other $9 million? I don’t understand her math. If I am wrong, I invite her explanation.
I would appreciate it because I want to understand and right now I am confused. I don’t understand how they will get the money without closing the schools.
Closing them makes sense. It doesn’t mean that people are going to like it but it’s not the end of Fayette County.
Right now, I am reading a book called, “Who Moved my Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson and Kenneth Blanchard. One thing that it says is that when you stop being afraid, you feel good.
If we can stop being afraid of the schools closing, we’ll be able to unite as a community and feel good about the change. And maybe, just maybe, people might see it’s a good thing.
[Samantha Frazier, a FMS seventh-grader, volunteered to write a series of opinion columns for The Citizen about the closing of her school from a student’s viewpoint.]
