Where to put funding has always been a topic of debate for schools, but when the funding prioritizes others, it becomes an even bigger problem. Hazelwood West High School needs to be more intentional and thoughtful when it comes to its after-school activities, as it considers funding and timeliness when doing renovations.
The Hazelwood community recently voted and passed Proposition H, a zero-tax-rate bond issuing Hazelwood School District $130 million, helping fund the Hazelwood Schools in renovations. Facilities have been updated with new boilers, touchscreens and new cameras have been funded. Aesthetics have also been a big thing as new fencing has been installed, parking lots have been repaved and football fields have been given new lights and turf, with bleachers getting power-washed. The funding has focused mainly on facilities, aesthetics and popular sports. But is that really fair to the other sports and activities?
During the fall season of 2025-2026 at Hazelwood West, the softball team had a winning season on a field that hasn’t been updated in a long time. The old field comes with a variety of problems. The biggest ones are that sometimes it isn’t even maintained, and that it isn’t even a softball field, but rather a baseball field. With spotty maintenance, it becomes harder for the girls to play as it becomes too dusty, too hard, hornets make a home there and holes become a challenge. Then, while playing on a baseball field, they have to be wary of dimensions, as outfielders play in dirt when they aren’t supposed to.
“It’s disappointing because I feel like women’s sports aren’t really funded. I mean our volleyball and basketball team are good …but like football got all the new stuff and have they even won like five games? It’s just mostly disappointing,” Kenna Kalka, 12, said.
It’s not just softball suffering, but also the HWHS theater department. The theater department has become self-funded as they sell show after show with little help from the school. Although they recently got new curtains and will soon have new lights, they still face funding problems. Equipment, though getting upgrades, doesn’t get updates completely. Microphones are still old and spotty while house lights are getting ignored despite the new lighting system. But not everything can be upgraded. Costumes and make-up are vital to the shows, but are based on plays which are usually undecided and are subject to change causing them to be limited with the department resorting to old, shared make-up and t-shirts for large casts. The theater department has a lot of student involvement as they average 100 students every play and 150-200 students during the musical season.
“I go to Walmart and the dollar store…but if you compare our photos to other schools…you can tell. Money opens the door for things. The reality is we do what we can with what we have but we could offer our students more if we had money,” Theater teacher, Mrs. Jessica Vishy, said.
Funding isn’t just one problem, though, as it can lead to renovation which leads to timing issues for the people they decided to fund. Girls tennis has recently gotten a new and improved tennis court. The problem? They didn’t even get to use it because renovation forced them onto public courts and construction didn’t end until after their season already had.
“It kinda sucks…I wanted to play here one last time before I leave for graduation,” Amber Shockency, 12, said.
The sports aren’t the only ones suffering as choir, band, and orchestra are being displaced due to new lights in the theater during their winter concert times. Every year, the fine art music classes put on concerts to show off what they learned. It is usually held in the auditorium, but with new light renovations being mistimed, they are now being forced to change locations. The choir was moved to the gym with the orchestra and band to the cafeteria.
“Personally, it makes me feel upset. And as for seniors, it’s their last year performing. I feel like it really ruins the memory and atmosphere. It really upsets me and others,” Nabel Hanandeh, 12, said.
Hazelwood West’s student council has also suffered from timing troubles as this year they started to prioritize football’s time. On Friday, Sept. 19, West’s homecoming football game was scheduled to start around 6 p.m. Until the 2025-2026 school year, STUCO had until 5 p.m. to decorate for the homecoming dance that was the next day, but they now only had until 4 p.m. to decorate, causing stress and mild panic amongst those in STUCO.
“It made our task a lot more ambitious. It was a big difference having that time difference on short notice. It was a shock. It made it feel more rushed,” Daniah Jackson, 12, said.
So, how does the Hazelwood School District get more funding for those extracurriculars? Everyone reaches out. Email the school board with problems so that they can use some of Prop H’s funding on more than just facilities and aesthetics. Possibly even fight for another Prop H that focuses on funding everyone, because school funding is more than just the building itself; it’s funding for the students who give it a good reputation with a winning season, perform plays that bring people back and the spirits and traditions that keep students coming back.
