Since the first day of school, teachers have sterssed the importance of reading books.

Posters are plastered all over classroom walls trying to encourage us to enhance our vocabulary and read at least an hour a day.

So a school library should be a must for all high schools, right?

The reality is that it’s been almost four years since Stagg has had a functioning library. And about two weeks ago, the process of boxing up the books and packing them away into storage began.

This unfortunate reality makes us recognize that we really don’t have a library anymore.

We know that because of budget cuts, we lack a librarian and there isn’t a way to check out books. However, it makes home and school work more challenging if we aren’t provided with books to read.

Some students have limited access to literature and as the price of books go up, students have trouble affording them.

If the school were to have a library, students would have easy access to books and there would be more opportunities to read.

Nowadays, people get their information online, especially for research papers. Although the Internet provides a fast and convenient way to look information up, it’s not the same as a book.

Some topics are more appropriately learned through books and other reference materials.

Books can pump ideas into people’s heads. More often or not, those ideas can be applied to the modern world to try to improve the way people live.

Just take world leaders, for example.

They didn’t get to the positions they are in today from staring at monitors. They read to expand their knowledge.

It is important for us to read to ensure we have strong leaders in the future as we have them now.

According to The U.S. Department of Education, 38 percent of high school students are deficient in the basic reading.

That’s why it’s crucial for high school to supply their students with reading materials.

By having books, we are given the option to read or not read. The absence of a library removes that opportunity.

It’s not likely that the library is returning anytime soon, but there is still hope.

The library is still alive in other forms on campus.

Andre Phillips, the principal, has allowed English teachers to take fiction books and use them in their classrooms.

He has also kept resource books in the library so students can look something up if they need to.

It may not be much, but the school is doing the best they can to utilize the books as much as possible and not let them go to waste.

We recognize that the school district is on a tight budget, but educational opportunities should come first. A library is a necessary part of our education.