Editor, The Smithfield Times:

I am a senior at Smithfield High School. I have lived in the county since kindergarten, and in the past three years or so the overcrowding at SHS has reached a crisis point.

Every year it gets more and more crowded to the point where you can barely move through the hallways between classes. The buses are even worse; on most buses students are forced to sit in the aisles, which is a serious safety violation.

It’s at the point where some classrooms don’t have room for desks anymore because the school is trying to fit 32 kids in a classroom made for 20. It’s absolutely ridiculous and it degrades the quality of education. It also puts more pressure on already overtaxed teachers.

We cannot afford to build all of these new housing developments without improving our infrastructure first. I’m not necessarily against new developments, but when it affects the education of the next generation, we cannot take any chances.

 

Jake Fales

Carrollton