Please note that last year Blair had 2,788 students. Closing off 2 floors of bathrooms means that 2,788 students must use only the first floor bathrooms, assuming they can physically access them when needed.
There has been no concern expressed by any MCPS adults, Board of Education members (including the Student Member), or Superintendent Jerry Weast for the students that may have physical limitations that prevent them from accessing bathrooms two floors away.
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December 3, 2009
The unfortunate situation that we have with locked bathrooms during
lunch has resulted from a combination of ongoing vandalism of the
upstairs bathrooms, and a short term problem of a shortage of security
personnel due to illness and retirement.
Blair security was aware that there was a problem in the upstairs
bathrooms during lunch, including destructive vandalism and extensive
graffitti. This problem was compounded when staffing dropped by two
because of one illness and one retirement, and left them with defaced
and non-functional bathrooms, and an inability to effectively monitor
the upstairs bathrooms during lunch. This is not a situation that
should continue for very long. Substitute security staff and new hires
are both being sought to cover the staffing shortfall, and building
services is working on restoring the appearance and functionality of the
damaged, defaced bathrooms.
When you hear from your student about bathroom conditions, shortages of
paper supplies, non-functioning sinks or toilets, or worse, please pass
those reports immediately to Blair's building services manager, Yak
Agbonselobho, Yakubu_I_Agbonselobho@... Any behavioral issues in the
school, such as reports of fights or other out of line activities should
be forwarded to Blairs Security Team Leader,
Cedric Boatman, Cedric_L_Boatman@...
I will stay in touch with the administration, and let you all know when
conditions return to normal, and whether there is anything else that
parents can do to help the situation.
Pete Lafen
PTSA Co-President
Would offering SSL cleaning graffiti run afoul of union laws?
ReplyDeleteGraffiti cleanup should also be used as a disciplinary tool.
Similar issues are confronting Somerset Elementary School!!! No lockouts, but restrictions on being allowed to leave the classroom. The 4th grade boys are not allowed to go to the bathroom unless they all go together as a group with the teacher (and only 2x day)!! What a way to teach responsibility and respect to all the students who are not involved with the vandalism! This has been going on since before Thanksgiving with no resolution in sight!
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