Editorials / Opinions

On the West Perry campus, recent changes have stirred controversy and made a significant impact. After an informative and honest interview with our school’s principal, Mr. Kasian, the answers to everyone’s most pressing questions were revealed. Have you wondered why the buses park farther away, why you need to lock your locker, what’s behind the dress code, or why the school has a  new tardy time? In this article we will delve into these questions, so keep reading to find out.

According to Mr. Kasian, the reasoning for the new bus parking locations starts with what the situation was before the change. Parents were dropping their kids off all the way at the softball field, so some kids would wander around. Cars also interfered with the buses at times, which slowed the whole process down. Now the buses park around the loop, it is a slightly longer walk for the students, but it also allows Mr. Kasian and other staff to supervise all students going into the school, including the ones dropped off. There’s also no congestion, and buses have faster exit times.

Across the school for the past years, many students have gone about their day without locking their lockers. This is a problem in terms of safety for a variety of reasons, the first of those being the most obvious, stealing, anything in an unlocked locker can be stolen with no repercussions. Another big problem with this is the possibility of students storing anything in open lockers scattered around the hallways. This doesn’t sound like a big problem until drugs, weapons, and other illicit items come into question. If you’re asking “Why can’t they use the cameras?”, then you would be satisfied to hear that they do not work, not very well, at least. Mr. Kasian also went on to explain that this is not a new policy, it has always been a policy at the school, and they are just now enforcing it. When asked what caused the sudden enforcement, he responded, “Because you have a bad habit, and you have to correct those”. Mr. Kasian is not the only one standing behind this policy, when the State Police came in a few weeks ago for a safety check, they said, “Yes. Both lockers and classroom doors should be locked, it’s a huge safety issue”.  

Why is Mr. Kasian more strict about the dress code? He’s not, in fact, Mr. Kasian disagrees with a part of the dress code, and it has remained virtually unchanged. The only thing that has changed is that there is now a flyer with pictures in addition to the dress code. This flyer was board-approved and it can’t be changed, though Mr. Kasian thinks, “the biggest, biggest question is the holes in the jeans. That’s something we could work on.” 

The school’s recent shift in the “Tardy to school time” from 7:30 to 7:35 was, according to Mr. Kasian, all about “Consistency with the middle school”. He goes on to describe the action taken by the middle school, “Originally it was at 7:30, and it looks like they’re not enforcing it at 7:30”. He then went on to say that this decision is something that will have to be discussed next year, like “Is our time going to be 7:35? Or is it going to be 7:30? And what do we how do we have to adjust those things?” When asked of the reasoning behind building consistency between the two campuses, Mr. Kasian explained that it was all about a “smoother transition” and that since they are “being instilled with the same values and work ethic.”. He further explained, “If they're doing something completely different, and then they come here in ninth grade, they're gonna be shocked. They're not gonna know what the heck to do.”

Many know the school’s clock and bell are all a minute behind, if this is news to you then you aren’t alone. When asked about this discrepancy, Mr. Kasian, like the rest of the staff, was not aware. Every day the bell rings at 2:36, though the bell is scheduled to ring at 2:35. This may not sound like much, but over the course of a school year, it adds up to 180 minutes, three hours. Mr. Kasian agreed that the bell should be ringing at 2:35, and he will look into and discuss this issue soon. (Editor’s Note - Within one week of this interview, the school bells were updated to the proper times.)

After being questioned about the outcome of these changes in policy, Mr. Kasian revealed that all of the feedback has been positive, and many are wondering why it wasn’t enforced before. He also said, “They’re not more upset that it’s happening, they’re more upset that, okay, my daughter’s a junior, and now all of a sudden they’re getting in trouble for it.” Further discussing the holes in jeans, Mr. Kasian says, “It’s just the style nowadays. Unless it’s inappropriate, I have no problem with it.” These changes are not going to be ignored, they will watch, reevaluate, and modify them if ever needed to.

These changes are all to push the school in a better overall direction. Though some of these changes may have negative effects on some students, they all have solid, logical reasoning behind them. According to Mr. Kasian, “The ingredients to success are here”.