A stall in the m building girls bathroom
//Overview//
Our bathrooms aren't always the cleanest and are often not fully stocked with essentials like soap or toilet paper. People are coming in and out of the bathroom without washing their hands which poses a major health hazard. You may have noticed that some bathrooms are cleaner than others and that has partially to do with how the students leave it, but it also has to do with a shortage of custodians. We interviewed Ms.Carozza and a janitor at our school to help us address this issue. We hope that by bringing light to this we can possibly improve the conditions of our bathrooms in the near future.
//EXPERIENCES//
Bathrooms have been an ongoing issue at CCPA for a long time. It doesn’t seem to be a big priority but it should be. In my experience, as a student, there have been numerous times when there isn’t any soap, paper towels, and even toilet paper. Not having soap is a major health hazard for sanitary reasons. I have also had to look for a bathroom that has toilet paper that is farther than my classes because the nearest one doesn’t have any. This causes people to be late to class and overall causes inconvenience.
//JANITOR INTERVIEWS//
A janitor at CCPA was interviewed about the hazardous bathroom conditions and this is what they had to say...
Reporter: Is it true that our school has been short on custodians in these past few years?
Custodian: Yes for sure
Reporter: Why do you think that is?
Custodian: The hiring process and custodians finding better jobs. The district
// MS. CAROZZA INTERVIEW//
Ms.Carozza, principal of CCPA, was interviewed as well and she has given her opinion on the hazardous bathrooms that are in her school. We asked about the custodians and she revealed that the schools have been short on custodians for quite some time now. The custodians work a swing shift, which means that they usually work from the early afternoon to late at night (2pm-10pm). The principal acknowledged that their working conditions are unfair but she is in no power to change their situation. Many people might be wondering why she has no power and the answer is the district.
//WHAT WE CAN DO//
To help keep our bathrooms cleaner we can make the bathroom more organized. We should also try and keep it sanitary for us to keep using a clean bathroom. If you see a student messing up the bathroom please tell them not to. If we do our part by keeping the bathrooms clean, the janitors will have to do less work and struggle less.
//SSC (Student Site Council)//
The SSC is a committee of people that vote and discuss the budget of the school and where the money goes. An SSC member has filed a Williams Complaint because of how dirty, filthy, and how disgusting they are. The Williams Compliant is when someone does a report or complaint to the district about bathrooms not being cleaned and also when hand dryers are not working either. It also means when the bathrooms are really hazardous (messy and disgusting) and can’t be used and closed for students to use during school hours. But it actually didn’t work at all because the district just ignored the teacher. This shows that it hasn’t been a priority to the district. One way we want our voices to be heard is by pressuring the district by bringing a board member to talk about custodians not being paid enough and not being hired.
