PORT ORCHARD, Wash. — Students say they are contending with overcrowding at South Kitsap High School.
"It's overwhelming to a lot of students, especially the students who have anxiety," said Hayley Campbell. "And there are kids, also, who have been trampled in the hallway."
Campbell spoke outside the school, where she is a junior.
Last Thursday, she created a group Facebook page to give voice to her frustration. As it turns out, she is not alone. The page now has nearly 1,200 followers.
"We need to be heard," she said. "And I felt like this was a way to do it."
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KIRO-7 asked Assistant School Superintendent Jay Villars what has happened at South Kitsap High School that might cause students to feel as Campbell does. "Well, what's happened is we are experiencing an incredible amount of growth," he said.
He said about 2,800 students now attend South Kitsap High School. That includes about 1,000 ninth and 10th graders who are new to the school. Villars said the school is planning to install new portables to provide more space. Still, he insists, the students are not going without.
"Kids do have seats in classes," Villars said. "Kids do have textbooks. They have the things that they need. But we want to reach out to the community to make sure we are meeting the needs of those kids."
What they need, insists Hayley Campbell, is a second high school.
"I hear a lot of people saying about how we need a second high school and how it's way too crowded," said Campbell. "And I feel if kids were able to vote, there would be a second one."
But voters in the area rejected the last three construction bond issues. And right now, the school board has no plans to try again anytime soon.
Cox Media Group
