All kids deserve an opportunity. We're not accountable for where we're born into, but we are accountable for the opportunities we can provide for others. All parents, private as well as public, they all have a stake in this.

Kids need to be connected to the school and they need to feel someone cares about them. In a large school setting it can be extremely impersonal. There's nothing worse than a student in a large setting not being connected to anything. That's the height of loneliness.

It gives kids more opportunity to come in and compete. It's a window of opportunity. We've got good football players here and we'll be just fine.

Once again Ron (Perkins), Don (Meyer) and John (Brisson) did a wonderful job getting those kids ready.

I don't think we can afford to lose that kind of brainpower.

The high schools that we have, and it's not just locally but nationally, are designed for a different purpose, a different time and a different place -- and it doesn't meet the educational needs of kids today.