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The Wildcat Tales volume xlvi
September 23, 2011
Issue One
Plano Senior High School
Cross Country Photo Essay Page Six
Lake Texoma By Yeesoo Lee Lake Texoma, one of the biggest reservoirs of the United States, is currently unavailable to visitors and locals. Due to a drastic increase in blue green algae, also referred to as Cyanobacteria, the lake has been announced off limits by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. All water contact is restricted and officials state that as long as the blue green algae is present, the water is unsafe for people and animals. Junior Joseph Burkman owns a lake house on Lake Texoma and came into direct contact with the growing algae problem “The water level and condition are both pretty messed up with the drought and algae, so it was pretty hard to get our boat out there,” Burkman said. Although the lake prohibits direct contact with water, boating is still permitted and the lake has not been shut down. “The algae stinks, too, so you can’t swim in the water, plus it makes the local hotel pool packed,” Burkman said. The lake possesses many harmful effects to people and animals. “This toxic blue green algae is not just algae. It causes skin irritation, nausea or diarrhea in cases if swallowed or inhaled,” AP Environmental Science teacher Kevin Yoder said. No deaths have been reported due to coming in contact with the algae. “It’s fatal in extreme cases and poisonous to wildlife,” Yoder said. Not only does the current condition and algae problem of Lake Texoma create conflicts for the locals, it also affects students. “My grandpa owns a lake house on Lake Texoma, and each year our whole family goes up and spends time together,” junior Callie Conley said. “This summer, we didn’t even go to the lake because we knew even if we did go, we wouldn’t be able to do anything in the water.” The algae blooms and low water levels have not only interfered with vacation plans but have also made an impact on the local businesses. “My grandpa called us and told us that all the stores and shops look like they’re going to be closing down,” Conley said. “The weekends are supposed to be the time where the businesses rake in most of their profits, but it looks like that won’t be happening this year. Hopefully, the problem will clear up soon so the local businesses can pick back up again, and people will be able to enjoy the lake once more.”
Plano, TX, USA
63rd Annual Emmy Award Review Page Eleven
White Guard Page Nine
Rezoning for West: Take Two
School Board discusses options for Plano North Senior High School By Haley Bunnell
The proposed future site of Plano North Senior High School. The site currently houses Jasper High School Members of the school board, parents, community members and school faculty congregated at the Sockwell Center, sharing their thoughts and views over a realignment proposal on Tuesday, Sep 6. The board committee discussed a realignment option of turning Jasper High School into Plano North Senior High School to decrease the amount of students at Plano West. This comes a year and a half after realigning the district because
of the addition of a sixth High School. Superintendent Douglas Otto stressed that the proposal is only a scenario, and will be further discussed. Attempting to persuade the board to eliminate the proposal, parents and faculty spoke in front of the board. “It disheartens me that we are standing here once again less than two years after discussing this very same issue,” resident Tom Schmit said. “After the contemptuous and fracturing
rounds last time, to invite this discussion is irresponsible, and to ignore the advice from groups of people and administration and board who diligently went through this is beyond insanity.” The room was split. Those who wore red were opposed to a fourth senior high school. “I am strongly opposed to a fourth high school and the associated boundary issues,” resident Mark Johnson said. “We do not need, nor can
Photo By Daniel Hinson
afford, a fourth high school. You still have the opportunity to what is right. Say no to the fourth school and no to the boundary drama. We don’t need it.” Attendees who wore white wanted to balance the schools, and support the idea of Plano North Senior High School. “I urge the board to consider solutions that promote
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Budget Cuts Wound the District By Alyssa Matesic & Miles Hutson
The PISD budget plan was cut $25 million this year. Faced with this budget shortfall, the school board reduced programs and staff across the district. The casualties of these reductions included some 223 teachers, 79 of which came from secondary schools. This toll also fell on Plano. According to Associate Principal of Curriculum Tracy Franco, the school lost seven or eight teachers, the majority of whom came from the career, technology and elective courses. “They were scattered across different departments,” Franco said. “The areas that we reduced were low-enrollment courses anyway, so none of the core classes suffered in terms of higher class size, and all of the electives balanced pretty much because those numbers were low anyway.” Primarily, the teachers dismissed were chosen based
on their time in the district. “Bottom-line adage is ‘last one hired, first one fired,’ so it goes on seniority,” Franco said. “I think it’s the best way because it takes all the emotion out of it. It just goes to the number, to that date. That’s the fairest way I think.” Debate coach and Communication Applications teacher Cheryl Potts saw some of her fellow Comm Apps teachers, including Patti Weinbrenner, cut under these policies. A consequence of these shortages is heightened class sizes in various departments. “Any class that has larger numbers is going to be more difficult to control,” Potts said. “There’s going to be more grading because you have more students submitting work products, and it’s a speech class so we’re going to have a really hard time making it through the curriculum with everyone
giving
speeches.”
The increased size of her classes has also impacted her ability to interact with students. “Most students will not get as much one-on-one as they would be able to get,” Potts said. “Larger classes have been demonstrated to be not as effective as smaller classes.” Tech theater teacher Erin Stanley has also been directly affected by the cuts. Due to the lack of funding for a fulltime tech teacher at Plano and full-time theater teacher at Wilson Middle School, she works half time at both schools. “It’s a challenge because I want to be here and there for both groups of kids at all times,” Stanley said. “I just physically am not on campus all of the time.” Other elective courses have also seen cuts. The total budgets of all electives have been reduced by 10-15 percent, leaving teachers and students
without certain opportunities that were offered last year. “Cuts have to be made somewhere,” speech coach and former UIL prose and poetry sponsor Karen Wilbanks said. “But extracurriculars are what keep students in school.” Plano will no longer compete in all UIL competitive events due to budget strains. While the music events are still supported, some academic events have been sacrificed: poetry, prose and policy debate among the less fortunate. Entry fees, transportation and hotel costs, when added, create an expense that the school cannot afford. That expense multiplies if further rounds must be participated in. “If we do well, then that all comes out of the UIL fund when we advance, and we
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