Money doesn’t grow on trees, though we all wish it did. In a capitalist society where wealth equals power, cash can unlock a world of possibility. So with Wilson being a well-funded school, why does it appear to be falling apart at the seams? The art and music programs are underfunded, the basement seems to be flooded every other week, so where is all this funding going?

       Wilson is most certainly not spending its money correctly. This year Yondr bags were introduced into our math and science classrooms. They were not welcome, especially with rumors spreading that throughout each advisory the bags would be added to more and more classes until our phones would be unusable until we left the building at the end of the day. Speculations spread about how much the bags cost exactly and how the money came about. What I am certain about is that they were a waste of valuable money. Yondr bags were funded through the Parent Teacher Student Organization, rather than a budget given by DCPS. Yet the members of the organization, members of the Wilson community, focused money on phone control rather than programs that might need funding. These programs include biomedical sciences, arts programs, or sports teams. Instead, we were given easily breakable bags to crack down on cell phone use. Yondr bags are a blatant waste of money. I do believe regulating cell phone use is important, as phones can deter learning in a classroom, but to spend so much money on hundreds of bags just to make sure a kid doesn’t sneak their phones out in class is outrageous. There are cheaper options than Yondr bags that would have the same effect, such as purchasing plastic bins that would serve the same purpose of collecting phones and storing them safely.

      An area that desperately needs a focus of money is the bathrooms. An article written by the Beacon last year detailed just how catastrophic the damage was. Several toilets and urinals were out of order, wrapped in black trash bags. Soap dispensers were ripped off the wall, and even more sinks were out of order. This year, there was a major problem with the school’s ability to restock soap. Money should be funnelled to hygienic systems in the school like the bathrooms rather than phone control. There should be planning in the budget so that the school can buy more soap when it runs out and replace it rapidly so bathrooms aren’t without soap for a month. Cash should also be focused on repairing broken stalls because with nearly 2,000 students in a school, one broken toilet or urinal could mean a line of waiting students extending out of the bathroom.

     Where Wilson chooses to spend its money isn’t so much irresponsible as it is mismanaged. If Wilson could pay more attention to the state of the school and maybe even ask a student once in a while about what might need fixing, many of these problems could be easily solved and even avoided in the future.