(Ed.'s note: The following was sent to the Youth Council Board of Directors and printed here at the writer's request.)

It takes a lot for me to quit, but I've reached my limit.

In a town with over 2,500 teenagers, only 52 people supported the Youth Council with a financial contribution last year.

In the same town the total number of adult volunteers, exclusive of the DJ Dance, for the entire past year, including the Youth Council Board of Directors, was eight.

The Youth Council has provided safe, supervised, and usually free activities to all teens in this town for over 20 years.

Not one student has been referred to a Youth Council program by a member of the school district this entire year. Not one teacher, administrator, or school board member has set foot in the Teen Center. Not one request to coordinate activities has been answered.

I have written articles for the paper, emailed countless people, posted fliers, made phone calls, made personal appearances at meetings and events, written letters both personal and professional, engaged in "Visioning" and "long-term community planning." Hundreds of people say the "right" things - a place for teens, activities for teens, engage the teens - but not one concrete action.

I can't continue. Effective at the end of the current school year, I resign my seat on the Board of Directors of the Port Washington Youth Council.

Gregory J. Schroeder