Kirstin Lee Olson took to Facebook to share her thoughts after seeing a picture of a teenager alone on the Lafayette football field, bending his knees. SJSD is closing Lafayette High.
Lazion Hernandez shared the picture on the We the People 3 Schools Information public group page.
The picture broke Kristin’s heart, which showed a teenage boy alone on the Lafayette High School football field.
He had dropped to one knee, head bowed, no phone in his hand, just sitting there in the quiet.
Lazion said that it was the saddest thing he had seen all day, writing:
Saddest part is I seen a teenager bent down on one knee on Lafayette football field!
Lazion Hernandez
My heart goes out to all of you
On Lazion Hernandez’s post, Caroline Diaz expressed her sadness, writing:
Breaks my heart there is literally nothing we can do now!! You think there is mental health issues going on with these kids now just wait!! I’m ready to take my kids and run away
Caroline Diaz
Seeing the heartbreaking post, Kirstin wrote an open letter to the St. Joseph School District board on November 25, 2025.
She boldly started the post, calling out St. Joseph School District to look at the picture, the hurt, the evident hurt, and the realization that the boy’s high school career is over.
Kristin said that while coming into work, the whole district was quiet with no kids laughing at the bus stops.
There were no groups of teenagers messing around at the gas station like usual. Let alone north, every school, north and south, felt heavy and sad.
She wrote:
ALL OF OUR CHILDREN are hurting. At every school, every grade level. Not just the Northside, as I work in the south end today. Southside is somber, sad 😞 and breaking also.
Kirstin Lee Olson
She reminded the board that they had paid good money for an outside auditor to study the budget problems.
That auditor told them plain and simple that they should cut the high-paid jobs at the central office first, not close schools and hurt the children. However, the board did the opposite.
They kept most of the top administrators and voted to shut down Lafayette High School and a few elementary buildings anyway.
Kirstin says the decision was never about saving money or helping kids. She believes someone is lining the board members’ pockets, and parents have finally figured it out.
You didn’t listen to your paid advisor, your students, your parents. You listened to who lines your pockets.
Kirstin Lee Olson
Above all, Kirstin warned that mixing kids from rival schools after years of bad blood will only make bullying worse.
She wrote, “Bullying will get worse, you can not put these kids in the same schools as you just tried to turn them against each other.“
Families are already talking about leaving the district. Kirstin said you can’t expect new families to come into the district when they’ve failed the ones already here.
She signed her letter “a pissed off parent and proud northsider.” That boy on one knee said more than any speech ever could.
An entire part of town is losing the high school that generations called home.
The Fighting Irish will play their last season this year. After that, the building goes dark, and the northside identity tied to it fades away.
