I am certain that you have received a fair amount of communication from my fellow NHS grads regarding this matter; I hope only that you will actually read them. That you will listen to them. I will try to keep my letter brief. I know you must be busy.

I find it painfully ironic that in my four years at NHS I was asked to pursue excellence, to better my community, to work alongside my fellow classmates, to improve upon and learn from these departments so that today you can render them obsolete. It blows my mind that Principal John Lawrence asked me on several occasions to speak before 8th grade parents, to incoming freshman, and when CC was building its new school on behalf of NCAC and its departments, the same programs of which Novi was once so proud, which now face this vote. Novi prides itself on what this "Blue Ribbon" it swings above its head and showboats it "broadcast technology and commitment to the arts."

Superintendent Dion introduces the school district in a web video found here.  This video shares 11 photographs of students involved in NCAC activities and two of athletics while the budget cuts list 25 items eliminated from NCAC while the athletic departments will "reduce uniform purchases" and re-analyze bus runs. What are you selling Novi High School and what are you actually providing?

If you do not understand the value of the arts in education there is no way I will be able to explain it to you in an email. If you do not understand the value of the arts to the world, you are lost to begin with and have little place being responsible for any board of any education in any child's life. Perhaps this is a hoax? I pray that it is.

There is only one thing I know for certain about Novi High School and you may not want to hear it.

What I gained from NHS and why I am thankful that it was part of my life has nothing to do with the bus schedule. It has nothing to do your prized blue ribbon. It has nothing to do with the fancy new atrium. It has nothing to do with the murals in the hallway. It has nothing to do with the sports teams or the fight song. It has nothing to do with the hall monitors or the custodial staff or the lunch menu. It has nothing to do with computer labs or the science hall or auto-tech or media center.

I am eternally grateful that Novi High School, at least for the four years I was there, valued its art departments. It gave me the forum do discover my passion, to live my dream, and has shaped my future. The drama department helped me establish myself as a leader, to work as a member of a team, and gave me, and my classmates, the opportunity to create. It taught me to step out into the world with both eyes open and how to accept applause. The journalism department taught me that I had something to say and that I have a unique eye for the world; it taught me to listen. Without these beginnings I fear where I would be in life today and I know I would not be where I am in life today without these beginnings. But the sadder thought is that the students to proceed me may enter a world of education devoid of all the things I actually learned from high school.

I hope you've reached this part of the letter.

I hope you spend today looking at lives, at impacts, at opportunities and not just dollar signs.

Bryan Dechart NHS 2005