OHS students Joshua Coleman, Matthew Rivera, Michael Palomarez
and Joseph Gomez work on a bench for the school.Photos and article by Margaret Hopper

OHS (Opportunity High School) principal Jason Ping and Dean Spurgeon, Cliff principal, are doing some problem solving, they say. Both want to give the kids more for their studies. The students are working hard to become trained and employable, but budget, distance and other conditions have limited achievement to in-school opportunities for so many. Especially those at Cliff.

Jason Ping, OHS, Bub Graham, WNMU welding instructor
and Dean Spurgeon, Cliff.With more experience, more community input and time to communicate with those who might hold key bits of information, the two principals think they can do a better job for students in their programs, now. In past years, Cliff kids could take welding, electronics, and other work in the classroom with book support, but getting to pricey machines, to WNMU for the dual credits, or even to OHS to be part of the vocational program there just did not happen often.

An important step forward was to write a grant application to Freeport McMoRan, a major employer of the countyG