I
love to tear up the road in my classic
car. I drive a 1989 maroon Oldsmobile
that has both rust spots and spray paint
covering them; hence, my beloved car is
nicknamed “Rusty.” What
I find even more humorous about my car
situation is the fact that I was born in
1989. That’s right, my car
and I are both nearly eighteen years old. Despite
being eighteen years old, my car is still
functional. In fact, I prefer my
car to many others, unless there is pesky
highway driving involved. My car,
while shabby on the outside, has an interior
like a couch, ridiculously comfortable. While
certain features of new cars, like a consistently
working right turn signal, two functional
side-view mirrors, waterproof doors, quiet
engine and new technology (I still have
an old-school tape player) would be wonderful,
Rusty is cheap to drive, reliable and comfortable
- so why change? Moreover, Rusty
is cheap, which is splendid. As a
teenager, only having to pay for gas is very important
to me. The few other times that I
can remember anyone putting money into
my car was when absolutely necessary, basically
when Rusty ceased being functional until
the necessary repairs were made. Luckily
for everyone involved, my car compares
to a tank, so these repairs have been few
and far between.
At this point
in my article, I am sure you are wondering
what this lovely story about my car has
to do with anything concerning your life.
Rusty,
my now (in)famous car, resembles West Aurora
School District 129. Yep, my
1989 Oldsmobile is a representation of
the district, as it is currently. As
with Rusty, some people are skeptical of
West Aurora. Personally, it baffles
me why my friends are wary of climbing
into my car for a long car ride, or why
strangers to the area worry about me going
to school at West High. I love
West Aurora and my car; I feel safe, I
have fun and I learn a lot about life. Given
the option, I would not go to another district,
ever. Despite my adoration
for our school system, there are, admittedly,
things that I would love to change. I
am jealous of other schools that can afford
to offer more classes, a more comprehensive
honors program, better technology in the
classrooms, dry-erase markers for teachers
and small classes. While these challenges
are certainly prominent, our strengths
outweigh these challenges. I have
learned so much in and out of the classroom
at West that I could never have learned
anywhere else. At
West, we have passion, diversity, fun and
tradition. I have enjoyed my
high school career immensely, and I know
that I will be well prepared for both my
college career and life beyond school.
Along with
my birth and the creating of the legend
of my car, 1989 was also the last year that voter approved operating tax rate
increase went into effect for District 129. Think about it, in my entire
lifetime, there has not been a raise voter-approved in the operating rates. While
West Aurora and Rusty have remained steady as a rock, other prices have shot
up. For example, in 1989,
a gallon of gas was 91 cents, now it is
around $2.30. A 1989 Ford Taurus,
bought new, would have cost $10,400; a
2006 Ford Taurus, bought new, is $23,665. In
both scenarios, the current price is around
230% of the 1989 price. There
are thousands of such items that have risen
in price since 1989 that greatly affect how an organization, such as a school
district, is run. Without
adequate funds, the math is simple and
fairly obvious: we will either have to
cut spending greatly or go further into
debt.
Unfortunately,
the cost of running the school district
will only increase. While I may
be leaving West next year, Christina, my
little sister, will be a freshman. I
wish that Christina will have the same
amazing experiences that I have had at West, and an ever better high school career
than I have had. I
hope that she can take classes that pique
her interest, compete in multiple activities,
and have wonderful opportunities.
Specifically,
I hope Christina will be able to carry
on the great Hunger tradition of driving Rusty to West her junior year. For
that to be possible, however, money will have to be put into Rusty. As
much as it pains me to think of increasing the amount of money I pay each month
for Rusty to function, if the little things do not get taken care of now, I will
be leaving Christina out to dry. That’s
right, if I do not take action and fix
that door sealant held on by duct tape, or figure out how to fix my right-turn
signal, these little irritating problems now will snowball into making Rusty
inoperable. While
it is painful, sometimes more money must
be spent to ensure both our future and
great traditions.
By Kate Hunger, West
Aurora High School senior
