More PIHS students
harvested potato crop in 2012
Photo courtesy of PaulCyrPhotography.com
THE ANNUAL POTATO HARVEST has come and gone. According to recently released results of the Presque Isle High School student harvest survey, 136 high-schoolers performed harvest-related work during the three-week break, which is 13 more students than last year. The SAD 1 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. This year, 24.5 percent of the school’s population performed harvest-related jobs.
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
PRESQUE ISLE — Thirteen 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. 14 SAD 1 board meeting, 136 high-schoolers performed harvest-related work during the three-week break. In 2011, 123 students worked, while 105 worked in 2010. Thirteen 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 (17 students), harvester (26), potato house (33), School Farm (48), truck driver (four), windrower (two), barrel loader (one), Aroostook Research Farm (one), while three babysat for others who did harvest-related work.
Of those students, which represents 24.5 percent of the school’s population, 37 were seniors, 43 were juniors, 36 were sophomores and 20 were freshmen. They earned, in total, $142,484.
By comparison, 21.5 percent of the students performed harvest-related work in 2011. They included 47 seniors, 34 juniors, 30 sophomores and 12 freshmen. Combined, they earned a total of $151,302.
Survey results for this fall show that 21 other freshmen did non-harvest work, while 101 did not work at all. Thirty sophomores did non-harvest related work, while 83 were unemployed. Thirty-five juniors did other work and 61 were not employed, while 48 seniors did non-related harvest work, and 41 did not have jobs.
Last year, 117 students did non-harvest work, while 332 didn’t work at all.
The percentage of PIHS students doing harvest-related work this year (24.5 percent) was the highest it has been in the last decade. The next closest year was 2009 when 24.2 percent of the students worked in the harvest.
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.”
There was no motion made by the board to have a full review of the harvest break policy.
