Dear Editor,

I have driven by OHS for years. I’ve seen the newly improved grounds emerge year by year. I attended a football game at the newly renovated track and field. In September of this year, I went to “Rachel’s Challenge.” I parked on G Street so I could walk through the campus. I had never done that. I no sooner walked through the open gates and noticed splotches on the cement walkway. I took a closer look and discovered the splotches were dried gum. The walk to the gym was long and I got lost. I backtracked and walked past the new Olympic size pool (which the school can’t afford to maintain) and found my way into the gym. Every inch of my walk was covered with dried gum. As I entered the gym, it looked clean until I started to walk on the bleachers to sit down and there was more gum…

The community has supported our high school and all the schools in Oakdale. However, if this is how OHS treats the property of the taxpayers of Oakdale, I cannot support further investment in our high school. From now on, the school should seek private funding for any future improvements. In the meantime, every student should get a metal scraper and remove the gum from campus grounds.

Kathleen Westenberg