By Mike Weland

Alex Mendez, Markayle Acord and Courtney Tucker

But on Saturday morning, three students showed up at the house early for a more serious reason, to urge people to get out and vote “Yes” on the School District 101 Maintenance and Operations levy.

Without its passage, school will be a much different place next year, as all extra-curricular activities will have to be cut. No Badger athletics; football, basketball, volleyball, wrestling, track, golf, cross-country, baseball, soccer or softball … and no team gatherings at the Smith home. No music, drama or choir. No Foreign Language Society, National Honor Society, business club, pep club, student council, yearbook staff, cheerleading or dance. No class plays or drill team. No student council.

For two of the students, both seniors, it shouldn’t matter … but it does.

“It would bother me to know that all the friends I’ve made wouldn’t have these activities and opportunities,” said senior Alex Mendez, who will be attending the University of Great Falls next year. Like his brother before him, he earned a scholarship playing Badger soccer. He also played Badger basketball.

“Once I’m gone, I look forward to following these programs,” he said. “These teams represent the community, and it’s a privilege, not a right, to play. These programs instill responsibility and an opportunity to continue to a higher education. If they’re taken away, they’ll take away a lot of the incentive I’ve had, and I don’t like to think of those opportunities not being there for the students coming behind me.”

“For a lot of kids, sports and music are important aspects of their school experience,” said senior Markayle Acord, who is going on to Corban State, where she’ll continue to develop her track and choir skills. “To take that away would hurt a lot of students. Like me, a lot of students don’t care much for class work, but you do them and work hard at it because you have to maintain your grades to participate in these extracurricular programs.”

For Courtney Tucker, the prospect of the possibility of not having extra curricular activities is more urgent. A sophomore, she considers the prospect of her final two years of high school without extracurricular activities, basketball and track in her case, with dread, and even says she’d think about trading in the Badger blue.

“This is a small community, and there’s not a lot to do,” she said. “Extracurricular school activities provide something to do, and channel our energies in a positive direction. Without extracurricular activities, school would be boring and a lot more kids would be getting in trouble. I would seriously consider moving without sports to look forward to.”

Ron Smith, possibly the staunchest Badger booster in town, hopes the words of these three students, reflective of the thoughts of many Boundary County students, to impress on people the importance of passing the M&O levy, a fact of life not only in Boundary County, but throughout most other counties of the state as well.

“I’ve heard all the reasons people have for not supporting the levy,” Smith said. “I haven’t heard one yet that I find legitimate, because this levy is all about the kids, and voting no is doing nothing but letting our kids down. Extracurricular activities make better, more well-rounded students, and gives them something to look forward to and take pride in. I can’t imagine taking those activities away.”