The interviews, conducted in mid-February, show that the 16- and 17-year-olds at both schools share a desire to see more from the future than they have now, said Jackson.

They want to believe that if they stay in Lancaster County, they will have good jobs and safe streets.

They want to have a fun place to live.

And they want to be treated fairly.

But the interviews also highlighted the stark and serious financial situation students in the urban school district see themselves facing, Jackson said.

L-S juniors said the city bores them.

They want to hang out in pool halls, coffee shops and nightclubs. They want more parks and places to ride skateboards here.

McCaskey juniors, on the other hand, told Jackson they were more concerned about having enough books in their classrooms and about having jobs when they graduated.

They told her they want computers, a voice in local politics and "equitable funding between school districts,'' she said.

Jackson said McCaskey students, "want to feel like there is opportunity. And someone is listening.'' The interviews were held to gain county teens' perspectives on the future as part of an 11-municipality comprehensive plan currently being written.

The plan will act as a guidepost for Lancaster City and the large suburban townships and boroughs that surround it. The Lancaster metropolitan area is home to 42 percent of the county's 470,000 people.

The municipalities involved in the study include the City of Lancaster, Mountville, Millersville and East Petersburg boroughs, and Lancaster, East Hempfield, West Hempfield, Manheim, East Lampeter, West Lampeter and Manor townships.

In both the suburban and urban setting, said Jackson, "students were telling us they want more from Lancaster.'' If Lancaster is to prosper in the future, Jackson said, it must take a good hard look at the students' angst.

And use it to plan for the future.

"There isn't enough to keep young people here in terms of activities and jobs,'' said Jackson.

That means, she said, the city and the municipalities around it must concentrate on business development and job creation.

The city must focus its efforts on becoming a "cultural base'' that fosters a more rounded quality of life for the people who live here.

L-S students said they want to see more improvements in the city, including cleaner streets and less crime, if they choose to stay here after school, said Jackson.

McCaskey students also said they don't feel safe on the streets.

The McCaskey class seemed keenly aware of the School District of Lancaster's financial situation, Jackson added.

"They are conscious that the city and Lancaster Township do not have as good a financial base as wealthier suburbs around them,'' she said.

Jackson said at one particularly poignant moment in the interview she asked the class of 20 students how many hoped to leave Lancaster County after school. All but two raised their hands.

Inequities in funding between school districts may be addressed in the multi-municipal comprehensive plan, said Jackson.

Although it is meant solely for planning purposes, Jackson said, the comprehensive plan may encourage the municipalities that make up the metro area to take a hard look at how local schools raise and use education dollars.

City and suburban residents alike share the concern that city schools are unable to offer the same educational opportunities as suburban schools, she added.

One change she could help make right away would be to revive the Mayor's Youth Advisory Council, said Jackson.

The council, which was made up of McCaskey, Catholic High School and Lancaster Country Day students, disbanded more than five years ago. But Jackson said while it was active it gave students a feeling that they could make a difference in the community.

The council raised money for local nonprofit groups and held anti-drug and anti-violence campaigns. They met regularly with the mayor and sponsored a youth conference every year.

Jackson said the students told her they want more of a say in the future of the city.

"This is their city.''

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