The other day, my partner and I were staying after school. After a few minutes, we attempted to find a way home, only to be told to leave the premises, unable to wait for the 4 o'clock bus, which would have been my only way home without walking 2 miles in a town that's not exactly the greatest, which we ended up having to do. 

It's ridiculous that in a town with a substantial amount of crime, children who want to stay after school and happen to leave before 4 are forced to be on the street and walk home on their own if they're unable to get a ride. The school is by far the safest place to be until a ride is available, and taking that from students is putting them at risk simply because you can't trust the future generation enough to let them stand outside a building for an hour or two. According to Neighbourhood Scout, Everett is safer than a measly 8% of cities. The average yearly violent crimes alone is 379, and those are only the ones being reported and counted, with the number also being averaged and not the total number this year. This clearly shows a need for a safe space for students to gather if they want to stay after but perhaps their teacher can't stay until four, or maybe the student even can't go home right away, possibly even because of domestic reasons. 

Thank you for reading this. I implore you to sign, for the safety of students all over the district.