As the vote draws closer, with how the district has simply not discussed the distractions to the students of the district, one has to wonder if the district simply overlooked this aspect or did not think about what distractions might be caused by the plan to close Youngsville High School? Are there other aspects that the district has not adequately addressed, thought about, or discussed with the communities?

What about the students’ safety? The district claims that students safety is top priority but nothing has been done to address the safety concerns with this proposition.

The district has only tried to shift the focus away from what was actually said. The response times to Eisenhower are much worse when it comes to any of the emergency services and this is directly related to location. It is not Eisenhower’s fault that it was built out where it is but the fact remains that it is located out where it can not be reached quickly by fire, police, and/or ambulance. Actual response times during incidents at both Youngsville and Eisenhower were given to the district. What was the district’s response? The district simply pointed out that there is a resource officer located at Eisenhower. How much time does this resource officer actually spend out at the school?

How many times has a resource officer stopped a school shooting? According to studies, this has happened only a handful of times, and the number of fatalities is not reduced at all.

As far as an evacuation plan, the students are to run across an open field in a zigzag pattern to a building that cannot offer all of the students shelter, running water, bathroom facilities, or a kitchen for meals in the event of a long term stay at Eisenhower.

Youngsville has not only one but two buildings that can offer all of these things for the students. While the district may not believe that these are valid arguments, a lot of parents do. In closing, with school shootings happening more and more, the safety of the students should be at the very top of the list when making decisions as to where they will be located and how long it will take before an emergency response can get to them.

After all, the district seems to proudly claim that the students safety and well-being is their top priority. This is a concern that both the students of Youngsville and community members of Youngsville have brought up with the only answer being that the district has resource officers. This makes a person wonder, if the district is willing to close their ears to this information given to them by the community members of Youngsville, what else has it turned its back on when it comes to Youngsville High School and the community of Youngsville?

Has the district gone as far as to show prejudice or what could be perceived that way, against Youngsville and the community with their actions in the past and during this?

Hal Dunkle is a Pittsfield resident.