To the Editor:

I am a graduate of Potsdam High School and went to school because of extracurricular activities. I was a good student academically, but sports and music were what made me show up. Three athletic seasons along with band, orchestra, and chorus were what got me to class and I worked hard academically to keep participating. Schools are filled with this kind of student. I won’t say that one activity is more important than another - students are different and have their own passions – but the one thing that is constant is that the activities outside of academics are what keep most students there. Few students come to school only because they love math or English.

I actually did love math and spent two years teaching it in a Northern New York high school, so I know what it is like to be a teacher and to work with the high school student population. People who think teachers are undeserving of their pay and benefits are entitled to their opinions, but until they have done that job they can keep their opinions to themselves. Two years was all I could take before I burned out. I worked 11 to 12 hour days for approximately 180 days a year.

This totaled about 2,000 hours a year like any full time, 40 hour a week job. Teaching was the hardest job I ever had. This includes my yearlong military deployment to Afghanistan.

I am now a professional saxophone player. I enlisted in the Army a few years ago (yes, the Army has bands and yes we go to the Middle East) and it is because of the opportunities I had as a student at PCS.

Track and field prepared me physically and band prepared me musically. Today I serve side by side with soldier-musicians who have master’s degrees in music performance from places like the Eastman School of Music and Berklee while I only have a mathematics degree from St. Lawrence University.

My saxophone instruction before joining the Army came from the music program at PCS. I will be forever grateful to Theresa Witmer, Tammy Madeja, Jill Savage, Jay Nagel, Barry Blumenthal, and Annette Fayette for the instruction I received during my nine years of music study at PCS. Please don’t be confused, the latter three left or retired years ago.

Track was as equally important to me. Tony Vaccaro, Brian Pelkey, and April Martin trained me from August through June each year. They instilled in me a great competitive spirit and love of fitness that has helped me greatly throughout my life. Every sport has its own way of teaching discipline and teamwork along with providing a great sense of personal accomplishment. There is no way I could decide which has had the most impact on my life - athletics, music, or the amazing education I received at PCS. I reap the benefits of all three everyday. 

People seem to think that they know all the ins and outs of the public school system and its employees simply because it is “public.” Paying taxes does not make you qualified to run a school. Listen to the information and opinions of those who actually work, learn, or have children there. Then make an informed decision when it’s time to vote on a budget. Academics are worth supporting. The arts are worth supporting. Athletics are worth supporting. Every extracurricular offering is worth supporting. Does that mean they can all be saved? No. However, that doesn’t mean people need to speak out against them. Speak on behalf of programs you support, not in opposition of those you don’t. We dislike mud slinging in political campaigns, so why should we tolerate it in school budget votes?

Administrators and boards have the difficult job of trimming and preparing budgets. In my opinion, looking at their own salaries and consolidation of administration and services across the districts is a place to start. Please don’t punish students because of politics. Attend board meetings, especially those that pertain to the budget.

Get a solid understanding of how your taxes and financial situation will change if the budget passes. If you are truly in dire straits and cannot afford a rise in taxes, then by all means vote no. However, if you are able to give up those trips to Burger King in order to give a child a reason to go to school, then vote YES.

While I may no longer be a local resident, I urge you to give today’s students a chance to have the same opportunities I had. Support the activities that keep children and teenagers in school.  

Robert Ames

PCS Class of 2001

Fort Bragg, N.C.