More SAD 1 students harvested crop in 2011
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – Eighteen more Presque Isle High School students worked during this year’s potato harvest than the previous year.
According to results of the student harvest survey that were shared at the Nov. 16 SAD 1 board meeting, 123 high-schoolers performed harvest-related work during the three-week break. In 2010, 105 students worked, while 141 worked in 2009. Seven students performed harvest-related work this year for less than five days or earned less than $100.
This year’s harvest-related jobs included handpicker (11 students), harvester (35), potato house (41), School Farm (23), truck driver (six), windrower (one), barrel loader (one), while five worked at the Aroostook Research Farm.
Of those students, which represents 21.5 percent of the school’s population, 47 were seniors, 34 were juniors, 30 were sophomores and 12 were freshmen. They earned, in total, $151,302.
By comparison, 19.2 percent of the students performed harvest-related work in 2010. They included 41 seniors, 39 juniors, 18 sophomores and nine freshmen. Combined, they earned a total of $121,587.
Survey results for this fall show that 19 other freshmen did non-harvest work, while 129 did not work at all. Fourteen sophomores did non-harvest related work, while 102 were unemployed. Forty-two juniors did other work and 53 were not employed, while 42 seniors did non-related harvest work, and 48 did not have jobs.
Last year, 131 students did non-harvest work, while 312 didn’t work at all.
SAD 1 Superintendent Gehrig Johnson reminded directors that the board agreed several years ago to revisit the potato harvest issue if the percentage of students doing harvest-related work got down to 15 percent.
“For years now we’ve monitored that,” he said. “Many years ago the board set 15 percent as a point that if and when we ever got to that point that we would put it back on the agenda and review the process. We’re in line with where we’ve been the last few years … give or take a few percentage points.
“The non-harvest related work percentage seems to be going down. The numbers have been trending higher as you go back through the years,” said Johnson. “Conversely, the percentage of those who did not work in the harvest — as you might expect — is going up. With 58 percent not working at all this harvest, that’s the largest percentage we’ve had not working in the last 10 years.”
There was no motion made by the board to have a full review of the harvest break policy.
