The opinions in this article reflect the author’s personal opinion, and do not reflect the views of the Chronicle.
I left my AP Lang class the other day hoping to find a bathroom stocked with toilet paper, soap, and paper towels–a rare trifecta–only to find the boys' bathroom blocked off with caution tape and a trashcan blocking the entrance. Frustrated, I made my way to the bathroom on the first floor, where a group of students vaping in the rear stall had filled the air with the unmistakable aroma of cotton candy. I returned to class dismayed by the lack of a toilet in the entire rear building, awaiting my next opportunity to relieve myself.
This bathroom situation is just one of the many problems in our school, along with issues like student parking, long classes with few breaks, and barely edible lunch food. I thought the school board's main job was ensuring our school and others in the county were running well and creating a good learning environment. However, my perspective changed after I attended my first board meeting last month.
The Meeting
The meeting was a mess. The audience response time dragged on for over an hour, with parents and individuals passionately arguing about a book called Stamped. The targeted book discusses the history of racism and antiracism in America with middle school-level writing. Some of the speakers at the meeting weren't even parents of students; they were from out of the county and had driven for hours to speak for two minutes.
Amazingly, the board had already spent over five hours discussing whether or not to keep the book in the curriculum during a special session the week before. There was no mention of the problems in our school, like the terrible bathroom situation or egregious lack of parking.
Who's Responsible?
I want to encourage my fellow students to pay more attention to what our school leaders are doing with their time and to engage with local issues that impact us as students. Stamped is still available in school libraries across the county, including ours, for anyone to read. Our school board should focus on the problems that affect all of us, not just a few. The bathroom issue, for example, isn't the fault of our school's leadership. The day-to-day operations of the school are the responsibility of the administration, and they are required to follow the rules and policies set by the school board. The board must start listening to students and the issues that we experience every day; for them to hear our voices, we must speak up ourselves.