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Middle school students urge repairs after surveys show safety concerns
Summary
Students from Maplewood Middle School told the board about rattling radiators, leaking ceilings, mice and unreliable fire/boiler signals, citing a student survey of more than 300 peers; the district said inspections and repairs are underway and detailed construction punch lists are near completion.
Students from Maplewood Middle School stood before the board on Feb. 27 to report facility and safety problems they say affect learning and wellbeing, and the district pledged inspections and repairs.
"When we are walking to school. We've noticed chaotic traffic conditions that put the lives of students, teachers and drivers at risk," said Theodore Cummings, a Maplewood Middle School student presenting a Steam Tank project that surveyed more than 300 students. He reported that 57.8% of surveyed students "don't always feel safe" walking to school and proposed additional crossing guards and temporary one-way drop-off barricades during peak arrival times.
Student council representatives raised in-school concerns: rattling radiators that can reach unsafe temperatures, patches of ceiling that crumble or leak, broken locker locks, water leaks that have softened floor areas, and mice droppings in classrooms. "Twenty percent of students believe that their school is in a condition that affects their learning in a negative way," a student speaker said during public comment.
Superintendent Jason Bing acknowledged the students’ testimony and said the district had already conducted or scheduled walkthroughs of Columbia High School, Maplewood Middle School and South Orange Middle School. He told the board the facilities team made targeted repairs, rerouted an HVAC sensor to reduce false fire alarms, and that final punch lists were being completed at several elementary schools.
Facilities updates given at the meeting included punch-list closeouts and sprinkler repairs at multiple elementary schools; roofing and steam-leak repairs at Maplewood Middle School; and electric service switch work at South Orange Middle School, where building permits and demolition for two new bathrooms were under way.
Next steps: the board and staff said they will continue building inspections, accelerate repair work where needed and upgrade the district's antiquated maintenance-request system to better track requests and response times.
