Parents and school board candidates in the Syracuse City School District are demanding greater transparency on recent closures at Henninger High School, refusing to accept the superintendent’s remarks blaming construction for the disruptions.
Less then 10 days into the new school year, the building was shut down to students once, closed early after a fire alarm was pulled, and the scene of many fights.
Classes were canceled at Henninger on Thursday, one day after a fire alarm went off and a series of fights broke out at the school. There was also a report of a gun in the building, and a 17-year-old who is not a Henninger student was arrested for disorderly conduct.
A district spokesperson confirmed that on Monday, students were escorted by a staff member if they needed to leave their classrooms. The spokesperson did not confirm how long that policy would continue. Additionally, a spokesperson said another fire alarm was pulled on Monday.
Superintendent Jaime Alicea said three fights happened that day, but CNYCentral confirmed at least five fights. Alicea claimed ongoing renovations were the reason why classes were canceled, not the fights. All other Syracuse city schools were in session on Thursday.
The “renovations” included new security cameras, covers for fire alarms and locks on doors.
On Friday, students were dismissed early after a fire alarm went off again. Onondaga County dispatchers confirmed Syracuse firefighters responded to the school around 1:40 p.m. Monday, but school and city leaders have not responded to CNYCentral’s inquiries.
Gia Palermo, who is running for a spot on the Syracuse school board and the parent of two Henninger students, said the district gave parents false information about what was happening. She said issues with the building itself allowed the fights to happen in the first place.
“It was because of those errors that all hell broke loose in school on Wednesday,” Palermo said. “It was because those things weren’t finished that we ended up in the situation we are in.”
Another school board candidate, Karen Cordano, said she would be “extremely upset” if she were a Henninger parent.
“I'm hoping that this is a real wake-up call in terms of really assessing what is going on in these buildings that are under construction before we have students re-entering the buildings,” Cordano said.
School Board President Dan Romeo sent out a statement Monday night.
It reads, "The Board of Education understands that any disruption during the school day takes away from students’ ability to learn. We also believe students and employees should feel safe while in school and parents should feel that their children are safe while at school. On Wednesday at Henninger that feeling of safety was shaken for a number of reasons. Since then, the superintendent and his team have been working to make sure they address all of the concerns raised by parents, students and staff. The Board has been updated along the way and will continue to monitor the situation. We are currently working on setting up a meeting with parents to make sure the plan going forward is clear and be sure that all of their concerns are addressed.”
CNYCentral also reached out to the Syracuse Teachers Association for comment. We have not heard back.