Safe and Caring schools - truth or fiction??
The following posts are extracted from the Chatham County Online Bulletin Board:
Are our kids safe in Chatham County schools?
By Gerald Totten
Posted Saturday, August 11, 2007
This article is also in the current print issue of the Chatham Journal newspaper
Chatham County, NC - Much has been said about one of the Chatham County School’s strategic plan goals, “Healthy Students in Safe, Orderly and Caring Schools.” Every school has made a presentation of its School Improvement Plan designed to convey its interpretation of how it can best meet that goal.
No telling how many hours are spent by teachers and individual school staffs putting a shine on their presentations to the Board of Education. Those presentations are well done with handouts, power point videos and narrations also generally tying up several members of each school at a Board of Education meeting.
In addition to the School Improvement Plan, schools were required to submit their budget requests for capital outlay funds using that same goal as justification for the dollars requested.
Do they really do as they say or are these platitudes to satisfy some administrative requirement of higher echelon?
My examination as one of two new members of the Board of Education of several of the pieces put together makes me wonder if this activity really isn’t just an exercise in futility. Much of what the school presents in satisfaction of this “Healthy Students in Safe, Orderly and Caring Schools” requirement isn’t really acted upon. Some of which is the individual school’s lack of follow through but a great deal, mainly budgetary, falls upon the central office and, in turn, the Board of Education.
Chatham County Fire Marshall’s office makes two fire hazard inspections per year and the Chatham County Health Department schedules one annually. I requested copies of the annual inspections for the past school year from the County Departments and have studied them as well as compared them. Not surprisingly they confirm what I have heard from parents and teachers and seen in my school visits. The recent school tours by the Chatham County Commissioners along with members of The Board of Education also confirmed a number of issues which call into question health and safety issues, some of which have existed for years.
First, the Fire Marshall’s reports are quite detailed as they should be. Once the inspection is made and the report is delivered to the principal, the school system has 30 days to make corrections and then a re-inspection ensues. Corrections are made and the re-inspection follows confirming the corrections. The very next inspection develops a similar list of deviation from safety. In other words, most permanent corrections are not made, just those needed to pass the re-inspection.
The health inspections are different in that they are only made once in a year. A number of them this past school year (July 1, 2006 - 30 June 30, 2007) were not made until school was dismissed and corrections have yet to be made.
A common theme between the two professional inspections was the filth and poor housekeeping such as storage closets overstuffed with materials some blocking doors and ventilation systems, debris on floors and materials stacked to the ceilings preventing air circulation as well as providing a fire hazard.
Turning attention solely to the health inspections we see bathroom stalls need replacing, hand washing sinks being used improperly, uncovered and unsealed food in the kitchens, dirty light lenses, leaking ceilings, commode seats need replacing, missing and broken flooring tiles, dirty filters, some mold, plumbing repairs at drinking fountains and flushing fixtures, vent fans clogged with dirt and debris and a number of schools with torn or filthy carpeting. These items were found in several schools. To be certain some schools were much better than others and clearly show attention to details but every school had one or more issues.
This budget year the Chatham County Commissioners approved over two million dollars for capital outlay projects which should cure some of the identified deviations from good health issues.
The safety issues are more complicated. Until the budget is actually approved, I don’t believe the Board of Education will be able to determine what still needs to be done such as enclosing walkways to prevent unfettered access to schools, security lighting, enlarging gyms and repairing gym and stage floors to prevent injury, new weight lifting room repairs and equipment, replacing moldy and unserviceable carpeting and other related issues.
At the Board of Education meeting on August 20 a preliminary report of ongoing facility needs will be made and a final report on 10 September. This final report is anticipated as being the one to be delivered to the Board of Commissioners on 17 September. That report should be the basis for justifying a request for an additional $6 millions in funds which might be made available.Gerald Totten is a member of the Chatham County Board of Education
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. - Edmund Burke
thinkinboudit
Chathamite
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Posts: 139
Re: CJ - Are our kids safe in Chatham County schools?
« Reply #1 on: August 12, 2007, 01:07:27 AM » Quote
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No wonder Totten has doc McManus and chatham seeker on his backside. Looks like he has dug up another bucket of slimy worms where school maintenance is concerned this time. Both backside riders appear to have inside school board or main office information reflecting on their chosen few as being uncaring about the buildings and those who have to be in them.
A quick look-see at the main office web site shows Paul Joyce as the head of Auxilliary Services and Tommy Cockman as the Maintenance Supervisor. I believe those two are largely charged with taking care of the schools. If they don’t have the budget to do it, they should tell the next up the line, the Superintendent and the Superintendent should lt the school board know. It looks like there is a broken link in that chain which must be fixed.
Why is it the schools get 39.38% of our tax money as shown on the tax bill I just got today yet let our schools fall apart? Those dollars are just county taxes and they get more money from the state. What do they do with what they get? There is enough to pay the inner circle big salaries and travel to the Grove Park Inn but not enough to dust and vacuum. Something is wrong big time!
Keep after these buckets of slimy worms, colonel. That’s why you were elected and don’t lose any sleep when doc McManus and your other detractors get after you.
« Last Edit: August 12, 2007, 01:10:01 AM by thinkinboudit » Report to moderator Logged
gonewest
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Re: CJ - Are our kids safe in Chatham County schools?
« Reply #2 on: August 12, 2007, 09:12:20 AM » Quote
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You know, there’s been a long hard fight to improve these above mentioned conditions at NW and you know what..it happened. Why? Because we have a principal who is not going to settle for filthy conditions, we also have a new AD who is not going to settle….who actually gets out there and cleans things himself.
LEAD and they will follow. EXPECTATIONS are set and met. EXPECT your staff and students to repect the facility and they will. CONSEQUENCES for not doing so.
I would love all out schools to be modern and up to date…but first CLEAN THEM. And first and foremost, make sure there is ROOM for students to learn. Look at the BOOM! post on the BB today and tell me that even another high school will handle the growth in the NW….no way.
The majority of the 6 million being discussed must be spent on Northwood. These kids didn’t open the flood gates and they shouldn’t have to pay the price for it. We will continiue to lose teachers at NW as long as the class sizes remain as they are. Oh, yes, let’s have 15 in kindergarden but let’s not have 33 in high school. We need ROOM at Northwood and we need it NOW.
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gertot
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Re: CJ - Are our kids safe in Chatham County schools?
« Reply #3 on: Yesterday at 12:14:33 PM » Quote Modify Remove
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I wrote and submitted the above article to Gene a week ago. Since that time, three members of the Board of Education, a parent, several teachers and principals have again toured 8 of our schools. The purpose of this latest venture was to develop a needs plan to submit to the County Commissioners in the event they will be able to realign some $6 million in borrowing capacity for school capital outlay improvements.
We have not written our report yet as we still have schools to tour this Thursday but so far the conditions we have seen in most locations are deplorable! Leaky roofs and/or pipes, floor tiles that look like patchwork quilts with varying colors, improper preparation for painting as it does not adhere in several places, spalling concrete walks making navigation dangerous, rest rooms with broken stalls, fixtures that leak and are unable to be cleaned anymore, dirty filters in ventilation equipment, light fixtures with burned out or missing lenses to mention a few of the major health and safety issues.
Schools which were built before concern about strangers on campus now need major security walls and fences to channel visitors to areas where they belong and can be observed. Security cameras, lights and monitors are needed in some.
Readers will get the idea - we just have let our schools deteriorate to a point where major issues now require attention. Teachers and staff do the best they can but when you have large areas unobservable more capital simply needs to be spent in that area if the funds are available. What we do have must be reprogrammed to address some of the more serious matters.
When our report is made to the commissioners, I will insist it be put on the schools’ website so all can see what we need.
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If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never can be.
Thomas Jefferson 1816