SJSD students encourage public vote “Yes”
By Kendra Simpson
Rick Gehring and other St. Joseph School District representatives rallied students in the area to create a video encouraging the public to vote “Yes” on the bond issue Tuesday.
“As we get closer to Tuesday in and you just go back and you look at the things that this bond is going to accomplish, sometimes I think we forget like who it’s affecting the most.,” Gehring said. “Almost everything on this list is going to do something to improve those kids, whether it’s their educational experience or just getting in and out of school or safety or athletics. So there’s just so much there that’s going to enhance what these kids are able to do while they’re at school.”
“It’s going to make a St. Joseph a good place to live,” Hosea Counselor Miranda Ham said. “We need to support this bond because the kids are the future of this town.”
Dozens of St. Joseph students dedicated their Saturday over spring break discussing the bond issue.
Athletes, thespians, coaches and teachers all shared how a vote “Yes” would improve the experience of not just those connected to the school district, but the community in general.
“We want to teach these kids and give these kids way more opportunity to succeed and have fun,” Central student Macormick Carlson said. “This is 2024. And we need to treat our schools like it’s 2024 and not 1980 something.”
“High school sports, that’s what keeps them in school, you know,” Lafayette student Ethan Zeit said. “Keeps them to strive to get good grades so they’re eligible to play in these sports. It’s really important for safety and the performance because like there’s fields like Cameron, Chillicothe and they both have turf fields…Whenever they come to our field, you can hear the other teams complaining about our field for hitting bumps, people rolling ankles.”
Gehring hopes to have the video edited and published on Facebook by Sunday evening to encourage people to get out and vote.
The general municipal election will be held this Tuesday, April 2. To find your voting location, visit Buchanan County’s website at https://www.co.buchanan.mo.us/buchanan-county-precinct-list.
