Ralston Valley [e]Xpress Newspaper

The Acalanes Blueprint high school newspaper faces the chopping block of district budget cuts. In response, the California paper, which is this year celebrating its 70th anniversary, has been imploring the community to help them in any way possible, so that they may not lose what the student reporters and editors believe to be an invaluable cornerstone of the school and community. Photo courtesy of http://acalanesblueprint.webs.com

The Acalanes High School Blueprint is begging for help. In a time when print journalism is on its way out, high school journalists too are feeling the pressure of budget cuts. Such is the case at Acalanes.

The 70-year-old California paper, along with other journalism programs in the school district, is on the list of programs slated for the next round of budget cuts. That’s why the school’s journalists have begun begging everyone who will listen for help.

The homepage of the paper’s Web site at http://acalanesblueprint.webs.com is devoted to the budget deficit and what the student reporters and editors believe will come of a school and district free of student newspapers.

One student even wrote a guest column in the San Fransisco Chronicle, which stated that, “Journalism fosters the growth of well-rounded, intelligent, and capable students and builds the foundation for these future contributors in the community.”

This issue, though it occurs far from Arvada, rings true here as well. Though it is doubtful that Jefferson County Public Schools will put journalism on the chopping block (the portion of the Xpress‘s budget provided by the school is actually raised by a small contribution of every student’s annual fees), schools locally and indeed across the nation are being forced to do without programs that they would otherwise deem imperative for student education and development. Most notable among these are music and art programs, which are often the first to go when schools are strapped for cash.

It becomes the duty of the school district, therefore, to determine what programs, which employees and how many services are absolutely necessary for students to learn. Keep an eye out for Jeffco’s budget cuts in the coming months. For a preview of how Ralston Valley may be affected, check out our post “Budget Cuts on the Table Again; will RVHS be affected?“. When budget cuts are announced, you can bet that we will cover it in the print version of the Xpress. Because, like the Blueprint, we believe you deserve to be informed. After all, “a school without a paper is a school without an independent voice.”