Closed campus during lunch may be an irritant for some students, but it may prove to be ultimately beneficial to keep students in the building.

“The first year that campus was closed for lunch was 81-82, when the school moved into this building,” Principal Martin Straub said. “There wasn’t a problem with it at the old building because there were restaurants around the area and the cafeteria wasn’t big enough to accommodate all the students.”

Straub said the cons would outweigh the pros if Hays High were to begin having open campus during lunch.

“I don’t see many good reasons to do that,” Straub said. “We would need to extend the day. Twenty minutes most likely wouldn’t be enough time for students to leave and return to campus.”

Another possible issue would be predicting the amount of students that would stay on campus for lunch.

“Forecasting how many students that would be leaving would be very difficult,” Straub said.

Safety would also be a possible concern.

“With kids leaving, there would be the potential for them to speed while driving to get back on time which could pose a safety threat,” Straub said. “There’s also the possibility of kids leaving for reasons other than food, and getting involved in less healthier activities. If we keep students in the building, maybe we can help prevent that.”

Straub said students have a variety of choices available in the school cafeteria.

“Five or six choices in the cafeteria is a luxury,” Straub said. “You can usually find something you like, whether it be a salad, a hamburger, soup or the main course.”

The decision to open campus would fall onto the school board, not administration.

“The board would have to be the one to change it,” Straub said. “It wouldn’t be my recommendation. It’s a common topic year to year, and I think everything is relative to what you know.”