RATHDRUM — Lakeland High School's Hawkeye student news reporters are keeping sharp eyes on the Lakeland Joint School District.

The staff of 18 has been busy covering local and national news, with a keen focus on Lakeland High School and the issues that affect and interest student peers.

This includes Lakeland School District's supplemental levy — its failure, its future and implications that are already being considered by the very students those levy dollars support.

One issue that has been discussed by board trustees and administrators as a cost-saving measure in the face of funding loss is a pay-to-play program for athletics, which may cost families an annual $1,800 for students to participate in sports.

Hawkeye sports reporter and Lakeland junior Dreyden Smith has been a student athlete since sixth grade. He's been in the district his entire K-12 career and currently plays football and baseball.

The possibility of a pay-to-play program caught his attention and motivated him to write "Pay to play comes to LHS with the levy failure," published Jan. 23 on lakelandhawkeye.com. In the article, he noted how "one of the beauties of high school athletics is anyone can go try out for whichever sport they want to. There are no restrictions, it’s a great opportunity for kids to get out and try new things no matter their personal circumstances."

"The main problem is this limits the number of kids that can play sports," Dreyden wrote. 

"Not every kid has the money at home to just throw at athletics," he wrote. "It’s a privilege to be able to play sports for free and making it cost money would do some serious damage to not only the numbers, but the athletes as well."

Sports don't just keep students in shape, he wrote. They provide experiences that teach valuable life lessons and can really help students discover their true selves.

"Don’t take these memories away from kids who can’t afford it," Dreyden wrote. "These aren’t just memories either, these are lifelong stories that one day will be told another generation of high school athletes, and in my opinion I don’t think its a good look for Lakeland to be the school to take that away from some people."

In a phone interview Wednesday, Dreyden said he didn't think he and his family could easily pay $1,800, and he doesn't think his peers would easily be able to fork out that kind money, either.

His article has gained traction on social media.

"I just saw it (Tuesday) night that it was a big deal. I had no clue," he said. "It was cool to see people talk about it."

He said it's important for Lakeland's student journalists to tackle the levy issue, for their program and classmates as well as for the community as a whole.

"We’re the students. We’re here firsthand," Dreyden said. "You hear a lot of it from the adults on the adult side, but you don’t hear too much from the students. That’s who it’s really affecting."

Bailey Elliott, co-editor-in-chief, said her staff has received overwhelming feedback from teachers and students.

"It’s really fun to be able to post stuff about what’s going on around here and sharing it with everybody," she said.

Student reporters attend board sessions, which are often in the evening and span hours, as they have had trouble reaching trustees for comments, Bailey said. 

"If we want any information from them, we have to go board meetings," she said.

She said the Hawkeye provides a reliable source for people to find information.

"They can get the point of view of the student," she said. "Right now, we all need to be a little more united as a school and it helps a lot."

Co-Editor-In-Chief Aly Caywood, a Lakeland dual-credit senior involved in dance and track, wrote an in-depth piece, "Voting discrepancy: Statistics show a geographical divide in levy voting results" that published Jan. 13. The article touches on community growth, district divisions and what may lie ahead for Lakeland.

“I think everyone's putting in a lot of really good work," Aly said.

As a student who participates in extracurriculars, with many friends who do the same, she said she and her news team peers are passionate about informing everyone about the levy because their journalism program is on the line.

"It goes hand in hand — we want to inform everyone about it," she said. "It’s important we have that funding so we can continue to provide the students here at Lakeland with the quality education they deserve."

The Hawkeye is advised by Michael Dunn, who also advises the yearbook staff.

He said the Hawkeye is truly a student-driven program; the students pick their stories and write about what they want to on their own.

"This is a really intelligent and passionate group of kids I have here," Dunn said.

He doesn't encourage one way or another, he said. He says yes or no and even disagrees with them on story pitches.

"They run the show," he said. "All their words and reporting is all them." 

To see students so motivated, engaged and successful is the reason Dunn got into teaching, he said.

"I started this class five years ago, and I never thought it would reach this level," he said. "It’s because of these kids. They come in and do high quality work."

Info: lakelandhawkeye.com

    Lakeland High School Hawks rush out on the field at a recent football game. A Hawkeye student reporter has written an opinion about a possible pay-to-play program for athletics that would cost families $1,800 for a student to participate in sports as a cost-saving measure if the district is left without levy funding.
  

    Lakeland High's Hawkeye student news team, seen Wednesday outside of the school.