Some days, Leticia Medina avoids using the school bathroom because the stalls are broken, the area is unsanitary, and there’s hardly any soap. As a student-athlete, its usually a struggle for her to wait until she gets home just to use a clean restroom. Her friend, junior Marcques Washington, faces a different issue–his sports team doesn’t have enough equipment because the school won’t spend money on it. At the same time, the school wastes money on projects that aren’t needed, while parts of the school building itself are falling apart, basic necessities, like clean bathrooms and proper sports equipment continue to be overlooked.
Medina and Washington’s problems aren’t just small inconveniences– they lead to larger problems of how the school chooses to allocates its funding.
According to recent data, Maryland schools are set to receive $63.1 billion in funding for the 2024-2025 school year, which is roughly $8,310 per student, and is expected to increase overtime. But despite this large budget, our school still struggles with basic needs like renovated ceilings, clean bathrooms and proper sports equipment, raising questions about how that money is being allocated.
“It’s annoying to see our school spend money on things that we don’t need while we can’t even get working bathroom stalls,” said Medina.
For many students, the funding problem extends beyond the bathrooms.
“I feel like the money gets wasted on things that make the school look nice, instead of using the money to make sure the school can run properly for the students,” Washington said. “For example, we got brand new cafeteria chairs and tables, but we still don’t have what we actually need.” He added.
Washington’s teammate, Brooke Davis, shared a similar concern.
“There are so many areas that need funding, such as food, events, sports–but instead, the money is being spent somewhere else,” Davis said. “Our team is so underfunded that I can’t even get a new jersey! And we don’t have the equipment to start new field events.” He shared.
However, not all schools in Maryland face these struggles. A student from Academy of Health Sciences, who wishes to remain anonymous, shared that their school maintains clean bathrooms and classrooms daily, and funding is well-managed.
“We get the things we need first before we are asked about our wants,” the student said. Their thoughts to reallocate their school’s budget would be to prioritize school merchandise and field trips rather than essential resources like bathrooms or sports equipment.
This brings up an important question: If both schools are in the same county and get funded from the same sources, why do students at Parkdale have to deal with broken bathrooms, outdated sports equipment, and falling ceiling tiles, while students at Academy of Health Sciences have everything they need and more?
The difference in funding between schools in the same district shows that the money may not be distributed fairly. While some schools spend money on extra things, others struggle to provide students with basic necessities.
Although sports and facility issues are major concerns, some students believe the budget should focus more on academics. Junior Leonardo Molanco-Ramirez suggested shifting the priority to education as an alternative for distributing funding differently.
“I would distribute the budget to focus on the educational programs and classes along with disability help,” Molanco said. “Sports must be secondary, especially when there are so many sports in which we place poorly constantly. More AP classes, better pathways into the higher end courses and incentive these new educational changes.” He added.
With collapsing ceiling tiles, unhygienic bathrooms, and underfunded sports teams, students from Parkdale are left wondering why their basic needs aren’t being met. Meanwhile, students at other schools in the same county enjoy well maintained facilities. Many believe that it’s time for a change–one that puts students first instead of focusing on the schools appearance.
