Clubs Falling Through the Cracks

Clubs Falling Through the Cracks


Nothing to do after school has taken on a whole new meaning. Due to the levy failure, many students have found themselves missing once loved after school activities.

The school has had an operating levy on every election ballot this year, both of them have failed. The most recent failure occurred in early August. The normal time that a levy takes to pass in Strongsville is three to five times. As it has already failed two times it is very possible that it could pass in November.

There are forty-nine different clubs at Strongsville High School, and out of that number only seven have restarted. One such club is Project Support, the club that works with the disabled students at the school. They had a meeting on Wednesday, September 19, 2007, but the club then canceled all activities until the levy passes, leaving these students with out this very important group. The teacher advisor of Project Support, Miss. Katie Bonness, declined to comment.

The Young Democrats Club has yet to restart as well. In a statement, Mr. Eric Green, a history teacher and advisor of the Young Democrats club said, “I have full plans to restart the Young Dems after passage of the levy. However, all my free time after school is dedicated to getting the levy passed which will benefit all students and clubs. This is in line with all other teachers.” Hopefully the club will be able to start again in November, since an election year is right around the corner.

And yet another school club the Gay Straight Alliance’s advisor Mrs. Jaggers has been “asked” by the Teacher’s Union to shut down the group until the levy has passed. An avid supporter of the union, she complied. According to Kayla Yarber, the club’s president, “The GSA plans on starting again in November IF the levy passes.” She also added, “The club was a huge support system for many of the kids at the school, it saddens me to think about the amount of support my members are losing out on because of the levy and teachers union.”

According to Mr. Sims, one of the reasons that we have not seen the restarting of many of the clubs is because some of the teachers are paid to work with them as Staff Advisors. They are waiting until after the levy passes to see if there will be a pay to participate program to fund the clubs. He also said that clubs without paid advisors are free to restart whenever they choose.

If you find yourself looking for something to do after school or are missing your old after school group, ask your advisor for more information about when it will be restarting.