Everyone at SBRHS is fortunate for the  new school building.  Although the old high school is still held in the hearts of many former students and teachers, the building was in a significant state of disrepair. One staff member remembers the condition of the old school and would like to prevent history from repeating itself.  However, she fears that this will very well be the case as she looks around the school.  

Although there are no significant repairs that need to be made, she still pointed out there are many small repairs that need attention.  She pointed peeling paint, the fading banners outside, split tiles, and damaged trees that were simply removed.  The worst was one of the glass cabinets in the hall where one of the shelves broke and hit a staff member.

This staff member is worried that if these small repairs are not made, then they will pile up; we will be right back where we started with a building in a state of disrepair.  She believes that SBRHS should try its best to keep the school “new” for as long as possible.

Mr. Campos,the head of maintenance and grounds for SBRHS, stated that the maintenance staff responsible for fixing these type of repairs consists of two people.  He pointed out that these two people are responsible not only for the high school, but also the other schools in Somerset.   Campos said budget constraints are preventing him from considering new hires.

The maintenance staff comes to the high school whenever they are needed. “If I notice something is broken, we send them out,” explained Campos.

He went on to say that if students notice any damage that needs to get fixed, then they should report it to a teacher or the office, who will relay the message to the head custodian.

Campos knew of all of the small repairs mentioned by the staff member, and stated, “They’ll probably be out next week starting to make those little repairs.”  That was a few weeks ago and these repairs have still not been made.

Campos said there was no issue in getting the supplies for the repairs.  Rather, Campos explained, “It’s harder to do it when there are kids walking the corridors.”  He used the glass cabinet as an example, going on to say that he would be unable to fix it until winter vacation.

He pointed out that student caused damage was also a large issue, particularly in the bathrooms.  A repair that needs to be made particularly often is the replacement of the faucets in the male restrooms, which are often stolen.  After four years, Campos said that all 12 faucets in the boy’s bathroom have been replaced.  Furthermore, the cost to replace the original sensor faucets is $600.  As a result, the maintenance staff started replacing with push down faucets instead, which still cost $220 a piece.

Campos went on to display a picture of a bathroom the janitors found in the particularly horrible state.  The trash barrel was kicked and paper towels were sprawled all over the floor.

The reason this damage continues to take place is that there are no consequences for those who commit the vandalism.  Since the school is unable to determine timeframe of the vandalism and there are currently no cameras in the restrooms, no student can rightfully be found responsible for the instances.

Ultimately, it seems all members of the school need to take it upon themselves to make sure that the school remains in its new state.  Small repairs must be addressed and students need to be more respectful of the school to stop unnecessary damage.