Last fall McDonald’s hosted a school spirit contest on social media with a grand prize of $10,000, and thanks to all the support of teachers and students, we won the contest and the prize money.

Soon after hearing that we had won Principal Brandi Hosack made the decision on how to spend the money. She choose to allocate that money to three things: paper for teachers, signs and banners with our new logo for around the school, and polo shirts for the teachers.

This money being from a spirit contest it is understandable to spend some of the money on updating the preexisting signs and things with our new logos. Spending some more of the money on paper will cut back on a lot of stress for teachers, without having to worry about what assignment to actually print and having to buy their own paper teachers should be able to work more efficiently.

However, now that the campus is 17 years old, wear and tear on the building is taking it’s toll. The sudden influx of $10,000 to the campus has many thinking about what improvements could be made. There are many ways we could spend money that would also help improve campus pride. And isn’t that what the spirit contest was all about?

Classes based entirely around using technology are being hindered by the fact that the computers break down or that there just aren’t enough computers for all the students who wish to take the class. Teachers’ whiteboards and blackboards went unreplaced for long enough to hinder class.

Installing brand new banners and signage is nice, but doesn’t address our longterm facility needs like fixing broken toilets and maintaining the things we already have such as whiteboards, computers, and projectors.

Granted the $10,000 is only a small drop in the bucket toward paying for computers and facility improvements. The state and the school board need to look into finding funds to ensure students have a clean, safe and technology rich learning environment.

How are we supposed to progress in a world driven by technology if we can barely keep up. Yes, Akins is much better off than a lot of schools when it comes to technology, but students can’t help but compare themselves to schools with more resources than us.

This contest money could have gone towards things that will boost school spirit in the long run, but it’s gone more towards shirts and banners that run the risk of only working now. We need to look more towards the future instead of only focusing on the now.