White Bear Lake made the controversial decision to have a split campus in 1984. (Bortot) Many White Bear Lake citizens believe the two campuses should be united. Combining the White Bear Lake Area High School North and South Campuses into one high school building will produce a better environment for students and provide them with more opportunities.

Having all students and all school events in one place will eliminate the need for shuttle busing between campuses. Currently, many students travel from one campus to the other during the school day. Some students that attend North Campus go to South Campus to take accelerated courses, while some students who attend South Campus go to North Campus to complete courses they failed or were unable to complete during their time at North Campus. This year 16 students that attended North Campus also took classes at South Campus. First semester, four of these students were transported to South Campus and back for just one class! Second semester eight students needed to go from North to South and back every day. (Blade) In the 2207 to 2008 school year the district spent 147 thousand dollars on transportation costs. ( White Bear Lake Area Schools)It is not a large number of students that go from one school to the other, not nearly enough to fill a bus, but the district still has to pay for a bus to transport them! If after school activities such as sports, clubs and theater were all held in one building, there would be no need to use shuttle busing at the end of the school day to transport the students from one campus to the other. If the district no longer had to pay for the busing a substantial amount of money would be saved that could go toward covering other school expenses. It could even help to cover the cost of building the new combined campus high school.

If White Bear Lake North and South Campus were combined, a new building would need to be constructed, or major remodeling would need to be done to an existing building. Both options would demand a large short term investment. White Bear Lake tax payers and the White Bear Lake school district would need to provide the money for the new school. It would be a large amount of money to come up with at first, but in time, the district would be able to make the money back. Things like eliminating shuttle busing, employing fewer teachers and paying bills for only one building would all save money for the new school. The long term benefits of combining the campuses would out way the short-term costs.

Keeping students in the same school from ninth to twelfth grade eliminates a major transition. We all remember our first day of high school; it’s a new building, new teachers and new people. White Bear Lake high school students have to make this transition twice. High school is a challenging experience even without the added stress of switching to an entirely new environment half way through. If the campuses were combined students would only have to make one high school transition instead of two. Currently, not only do students have to worry about making the transition to South Campus, they also have to worry about saying goodbye to friends in other grades as they make the transition, this only adds to the changing environment. Student’s academic performance is better when they feel comfortable in their environments. Forcing students switch schools and leave the things that are familiar to them, including friends, does nothing to help student’s academic performance and could possibly hinder it. Another part of the transition that is difficult is the issue of superiority. Tenth grade is the highest grade at North Campus and Twelfth grade is the highest grade at South Campus. This makes the transition from North to South Campus even more difficult because students enter the new environment back at the bottom of the high school food chain. Eliminating this major transition eliminates social and emotional stress which allows them to focus more on academics.

If all White Bear Lake high school students attended one campus, courses would be more efficient. Currently, classes are cut each year because not enough students sign up for them. If all students attended one school, there would be a larger pool of students, and therefore, more students would sign up for each course. For example, some classes are offered at both North and South campus, such as Trigonometry and Algebra Three. If the campuses were combined, there would be a larger pool of students and therefore, more students would sign up for each class. This would increase the chances of there being enough students to form a class. Because some classes are offered at both campuses, the district needs to hire enough teachers to teach the same subject at two different locations. If all classes were held in one building, the district could keep the teachers on staff, but they would be able to better divide the teachers and students to form smaller class sizes. In turn, if each student had more one on one time with their teacher it would increase their academic performance and enhance their high school experience.

High school is not necessarily the most enjoyable part of a person’s life, but it is crucial. It is a time where life long habits are formed and skills are learned. Being in one building for four years helps a student feel connected to their building and comfortable in their environment. If White Bear Lake North and South Campus were combined, students could benefit even more from their high school experience. By combining the campuses, high school can be not only a memorable experience, but an experience that left lasting positive effects on a young life.