Dear Editor, Parents, and Students:

I want to address the concerns about charging students to attend pep rallies.  First and foremost we are proud of our football team and want to make sure we show them our total support at all times.

Next week is Spirit Week for us and we were trying to balance all factors that need to be considered.  The pep rally is a big part of Spirit Week.  We were trying to determine the best place to have this pep rally while considering the pros and cons of having this in the gym or the stadium.  The gym would prevent us from allowing all students to attend due to the size but we could provide better security and it would not take as long to prepare.  The stadium would allow all students to attend but requires much more preparation time and personnel that are needed in the classrooms.

We looked at other districts that used this week as a fund raiser such as what we found in the Greenville County Schools, as an example.

However, we do not want to exclude any student from participating and after looking at the bigger picture we have decided not to charge any student.  We appreciate the input we received from the public and felt it necessary to provide you with a full explanation in a straight forward manner.

Thank you very much,

Jill Jett
Principal – Strom Thurmond High School