As one of the largest school districts with approximately 187,000 students, Fairfax County is facing problems involving their budget.

Superintendent Dr. Karen Garza revealed that the large estimated deficit of $100 million could lead to many budget cuts.

Although everything is far from being confirmed, a list of potential reductions was recently released to the public, some of which alarmed many parents and students.

A 36 member task force created a list of ideas ranging from reducing staff members to increasing class sizes in order to save money. The most questionable proposals included eliminating sports, school newspapers, yearbook and downsizing music programs such as orchestra, band and chorus.

Although it is unlikely that sports will be fully removed, Fairfax County can reduce the amount of funds they lend towards their sports programs.

This will force coaches, teams and assistants to raise even more money on their own in order to provide for uniforms, buses and other necessities.

For most sports, students already have to pay for their own uniforms and hold fundraisers to pay for expenses. If Fairfax County provides even less money, the student athletes won’t be able to focus on what’s important- playing the game.

In such a large and popular school district, cutting sports could also have the unintended impact of turning students and parents off FCPS, especially students who see sports as a possible gateway to college.

Many students get into college solely on their athletic ability, and those students would be pretty upset to see that opportunity taken away from them.

Not only are sports sometimes a gateway to college, they also teach students some valuable lessons about hard work, commitment and how to conduct themselves on a team.

These skills could help in any professional environment, and students and parents alike would be sad to see them go.

Elimination of school newspapers and yearbooks would affect many young writers and photographers in the county. Removing these student run newspapers and yearbooks would deny those who take journalism classes the full experience of being journalists themselves.

School newspapers allow students to be more aware of current events around the world as well as what’s going on in their school.

The papers that are oftentimes published monthly keep the student body up to date and show different perspectives on their school and the world

Newspapers aid aspiring journalists in discovering their talents and seeing if the career fits them as writers. Removing these newspapers would only set students back and there would not be any benefits from cutting this student activity.

In addition to school newspapers, yearbooks are also student run and are one of the many things that most students look forward to at the end of the school year.

The yearbook staff spends an entire year capturing memorable events through a lens and work hard to create the best and most creative yearbook for the rest of the student body. Without it, students would not be able to reflect on their school year and reminisce

Having a tangible consummation of one’s year can bring up pleasant memories, and make one more positive about their high school experience for years to come.

As for those students who have been a part of the newspaper and yearbook staff for multiple years, cutting the two student activities would put their efforts down the drain.

The staff members have worked hard for years in order to build a reputation for their organizations and they have brought forth many new ideas for the sake of developing their newspaper and yearbooks into the best that they could be.

Aside from eliminating newspapers and yearbooks, the task force suggested to stop funding music programs.

This proposal would only further outrage the students as well as their parents. The music department currently does not get much money to begin with and this proposal would only set them back further.

There are many students within the school who are passionate about music and like sports, music promotes teamwork and commitment. For some students, orchestra, band and chorus are the only times where they can experience making music.

In conclusion, eliminating these programs would be detrimental.