I am writing in response to Ms. Ludlow’s letter (News-Times, Aug. 24) concerning the school bond. I will admit that since I am unemployed, I do not pay taxes, but I am a junior at Oak Harbor High School and believe I can offer a different perspective on the issue.

In regards to the hot lunch program, I would say that it is neither a complete failure nor a waste of money. I will admit that its beginning was a bit rough, but so was our country’s when it was founded. Nothing can be expected to be perfect when first created. I would also like to address the mentality that believes each person should bring his or her own lunch and pay his or her own way. I would respond by saying, why should people not work to purchase their own medications? I apologize if that statement was a little below the belt, however the principles are the same.

Next is the whole issue of holding budgets accountable. I honestly cannot say where the school’s entire budget is allocated or how it is spent. However, if you are concerned about budgets, maybe we should discuss the state’s budget. As a state, we are 1.3 billion dollars in debt and the debt is growing. Now, I could be wrong, but I would attribute at least a little part of this to Tim Eyman’s initiatives that cut taxes left and right. Regardless of how the debt began, it should be noted that in order to try and curb the increasing debt, the state legislature has been cutting off some “unimportant” programs. One of these programs includes part of the funding for education. You might ask what is amiss with our school, and I am sorry to tell you that several things are wrong. To start with, our school has outgrown its facilities. As another point, at the end of last year, our school was out of paper. That is correct, the school had to resort to rationing the plain white paper. A final point is the various budget cuts of individual programs within the school. Again, I do not know entirely where the all of the money goes, but if we are running out of paper with a couple weeks of school left and have outgrown facilities, something needs to be done.

In conclusion I would like to make a few short statements. First, Social Security was designed as a short-term fix when it was conceived, and not to be in existence for over 60 years. Second, I hold my head in shame as I use the cliche that children are the future. What you invest in us will not be squandered. Yes, firefighters, police and hospitals are important, but ensuring that our future will be a good one is important as well. We must guarantee that youth will have a good chance at being able to pay their own way. In the state of Washington, only 4 percent of voters in the age group of 18 to 25vote. Maybe this is why issues that apply to them and the younger generation are tossed to the wayside.

Josh Wright

Student at Oak Harbor High School