Editor’s Note: The following letters to the editor on the Mathews Local School

Editor’s Note: The following letters to the editor on the Mathews Local School District’s $23.9 million bond issue on the Nov. 8 ballot were written by 7th- and 8th-grade language-arts students in the district. The letters were part of a writing assignment from teacher Sarah Rouzzo.

Lack of air conditioning sorely hinders learning

Mathews School District in Vienna has a new school bond issue on the ballot in November. I know we need a new school, and I am pretty sure the rest of my classmates know, too. Mathews High School, which was built more than 100 years ago, has a lot of problems I would like to discuss.

I would first like to address the fact that we don’t have any air conditioning. This is a major issue, as it interferes with our ability to concentrate, which in turn disrupts our learning process. The excessive heat makes for an uncomfortable environment within the classroom. Even the teachers find that these conditions further complicate the already difficult K-12 learning process. The use of two large fans in the gymnasium is necessary for any activities there.

Another issue we face is the conflict of our gymnasium scheduling. Since our middle school was shut down, students have been dispersed between existing facilities within the school district. The already cramped high school now has to accommodate six grade levels, instead of the four it was designed to host. Additional classrooms were created by eliminating pre-existing opportunities for students, such as cooking classes and a weight room. Unfortunately, our gymnasium, known as “The Shoebox” due to its small size, was already reaching its maximum scheduling capacity before the extra grades were brought up from the middle school. Events like basketball and volleyball are difficult to accommodate spectators, and the space around the court is so small there is barely enough room to walk without stepping on athletes’ feet.

The overall poor condition of the building should also be considered. Many areas have been continually repaired because of the school’s age. Walls, floors and heating equipment are so outdated that the repair costs far exceed the values but constantly have to be fixed just to keep the facility open. This money could be better used for new technology and advanced education if a new complex were approved.

I hope people understand how important this really is, not just to me, but all future students and maybe even my kids someday. My wish is that enough people believe in our future and will vote “Yes” on Nov. 8.

Daniel Richards, 8th grade, Vienna

The longer we wait, more costly it will be

Anyone living in the Mathews School District, please support our bond issue on Nov. 8 for building a K-12 new school campus. It’s not that we want a new school, but we desperately need a new school.

Our high school, which consists of 7th to 12th grades, is over 100 years old. Unfortunately, our aging school isn’t going to repair itself. All the paint and cosmetic repairs can only cover up so much. Year after year, we are sinking more money into maintaining our run- down schools, when, in reality, it would be cheaper in the long run to build a new one. The longer we wait, the more money it will cost to build.

Still not convinced? Try sitting in choir class on the third floor for 50 minutes, where the heat is so unbearable, it is like being in a sauna even in the winter months. Just this month, the varsity volleyball game had to be canceled due to a leak in the gymnasium roof.

Not to even mention Currie Elementary and all of its problems. Just last week, students in grades K-2 were sent home because of a septic backup at the school. They can’t even drink from the water fountains due to high arsenic levels in the water system. If you are having any doubts about the need for a new school, please come out and take a tour of our schools and see for yourself.

In closing, our community, teachers, and students are simply exceptional. I wouldn’t want to go to any other school. I am proud to call myself a Mathews Mustang. Please come out and vote “Yes.”

Isabella Spano, 8th grade, Vienna

Moldy walls, bad floors cry out for new school

I support the levy be- cause I think that the students and staff of the Mathews school district deserve a new school.

First, with a K-12 complex, all of the students will be going to school in the same building no matter their grade level. I do not like how we have three different schools, and you go into the different schools and different locations as you get older. So, the K-12 complex also will benefit because school will be in the same location throughout all of their school years.

Second, our high school is over 100 years old. The biggest problem is that our building is falling apart.There are cracks in the floor tiles, some of the walls are moldy, and water leaks through the roof and the ceiling tiles onto the floor.Another major problem is that there is no air conditioning! As a student, it is hard to focus when you are sitting in a classroom that is 90 degrees because you are sitting there sweating. The next problem is that the hallways are really small. This is a problem because when students are at their lockers, it is hard to walk past them to go to your own locker because there is no room. Also, the classrooms are very small. We all sit very close to each other, and there is barely any room to walk around. The last problem is the locker rooms. First, as an athlete or gym student, we need better locker rooms. The showers in the locker rooms do not even work. If our showers work, after a sporting event, our students could take showers to freshen up. The floor, walls, and ceiling in the locker room are really gross because they are cracked, very dirty, and old. It is also very embarrassing to our school to have the opposing team use the locker room. For example, say the girls are having a volleyball game. The team that we are playing against has to use the men’s locker room because our team uses the girl’s locker room. So, at the new school, we need to have more than one of the same gendered locker room. These are all problems that we need to fix.

Thirdly, we need to improve our technology. We need a newer version of desktop computers, more Chromebooks and access to the Wi-Fi. Sometimes our desktop computers have bugs and they run slowly.

Also, I think that the students should have access to the school Wi-Fi. Students use their cellphones to search the internet if a teacher allows them. If a student’s phone is not connected to Wi-Fi, then they are using data.Parents pay for the data, and students use a lot of data at school. If the students have access to the Wi-Fi, their data will not be wasted while they’re at school. At the new school, we will be more likely to purchase new technology because if we have a new exterior, it would seem normal to get a new interior. With a 101-year-old school, it seems normal to have outdated technology because the exterior is outdated.

In conclusion, you should vote “yes” for the Mathews school levy because our building is very old and falling apart, and Mathews students need to be proud of our building. I hope that these reasons might influence your decision on voting yes for our levy.

Emma Gates, 7th grade, Vienna

A new school would make true Mustangs

My school is try- ing to pass a levy in November to try and get a new school building. The Mathews High School building was originally constructed in 1915 and added onto five more times afterward.

Mathews High School sits on 16 acres, while the recommended size from the Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) states the site should be 28 acres for the current enrollment. The school building’s rooms are also smaller than the OSFC recommendation.

The gym is 6,040 square feet, which is supposed to be 9,300 square feet. The students’ cafeteria is 2,736 square feet; it is recommended to be 3,000 square feet. This is just a meager amount of the problems with the high school.

Many other complications need to be replaced and upgraded such as the heating, cooling, sewage system, windows, and emergency lighting to list a few. The plumbing, fire alarm, security system and more need updated as well.

There are some cons about building a new school though. People of Vienna and Fowler will have to pay higher property taxes. Also, the project would not be done until three years after the levy has passed.

Despite the cons, the fact is the building is in terrible condition. The building also has mold that causes some students to get terrible allergies if near the dangerous fungus.

We need the support of the community to obtain what we lack, a new building. The students and staff deserve the new school building to further extend our academic potential, and with this new school, we will not be ponies anymore. We Will Be Mustangs.

Chloe Sweitzer, 8th grade, Vienna