The third Monday of every January celebrates a man remembered for an extraordinary vision that can be summarized in a single phrase, “I have a dream.” Over the recent Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, we all had a chance to look at the world and decide what needs to change or what is important to us. After all, we have dreams, too.

As petitions and rumors circulate, I’m reminded of the dream that we, the citizens of LHWHS, share. We all want our district to be the best it can be. Most of us have heard that if the April 3 $.49 tax levy fails, we will lose field trips, late buses, two music teachers, Sixth Grade Camp and much more. The high school block schedule is likely to be evaluated and changed to a traditional seven-period day regardless of the tax levy outcome, according to the Ladue Schools website. The district also proposed to cut the gifted program including Idea Lab and Apogee, all summer school classes and extracurricular activities like clubs and sports for the 2013-2014 school year.

Any teacher, coach or musical director can tell you that a consistently high-performing group relies on a strong foundation. Our AP classes would not be as full or fulfilling if not for the quality of the gifted programs in elementary schools. Our music and theater departments would suffer if the district cut funding for elementary music programs. Without elementary school Spanish programs, our students will lose an advantage in foreign language classes of which we are only just beginning to see the effects.

To put it bluntly, Ladue has developed a champagne taste on a beer budget. We are accustomed to sending our students to out of state colleges, scoring fours and fives on AP tests and winning state championships in athletics, debate and academic competitions. If success is important to us, then we have two choices: go out and get more money, or start drinking beer.

Thankfully, the school board has removed the college and career counselors from the immediate potential cut list if the tax levy fails. One of the most valuable things Ladue has to offer is the college mentality–people don’t ask if you’re going to college, they ask where. That ideology is worth more than any program a public school can offer.

Think of the sheer volume of private schools in the Ladue area. There’s MICDS, John Burroughs, Visitation, Villa, Whitfield, Chaminade, St. Joe’s and St. Louis University High. Of all the school-age kids in the City of Ladue, only a small percentage actually go to Ladue schools. That means only a fraction of Ladue parents have direct motivation to vote for the tax increase we so desperately need. With that in mind, simply saying that we need to pass the tax levy isn’t enough. If we the people of Ladue want to keep our district strong, we need to advocate for it. Think of the hours spent on political campaigns–who is campaigning for our schools?

We the students are ideally situated to campaign for the tax levy because we understand just how invaluable programs like Idea Lab and block schedule are. We know better than anyone how important it is to keep classes small and prepare younger students for the rigor of high school courses. If we want to help our district, we need to stand up for it. #