Recent vandalism closes north building bathrooms indefinitely

Recent vandalism at Highlands High School has led to the temporary closure of all of the North Building bathrooms, creating much inconvenience for students and additional work for the custodians. Students are now forced to walk to other parts of the school to use the remaining bathrooms. This has caused increased traffic and longer wait times during school hours.

These incidents include inappropriate messages and drawings written in Sharpie on bathroom walls and stall doors, damage to paper towel dispensers and a stall door ripped off its hinges. The damage has raised concerns among school staff about the cost of repairs and the impact on students’ daily routines.

“There has been a significant increase in vandalism over the past few months. Much of the damage has involved graffiti, including writing and drawings on bathroom walls and stalls,” Assistant Principal Brady Dowling said.

Although some of the messages were inappropriate, a lot of them were actually positive. In fact, many of the messages reflected encouragement and support rather than the negativity people might expect.

“Believe it or not, most of the messages were positive. We were surprised to see this. Although it’s a good message, graffiti in the bathrooms is not the way to spread it,” Assistant Principal Jennifer Nash said.

To address the situation, the administration has not only closed the North Building bathrooms, but they also regularly check the remaining bathrooms every class period. They are also using the building’s camera system to help identify students responsible for the damage. They hope to determine who was present when the vandalism occurred and hold those responsible accountable.

“I think all the students who did this should be held accountable. This affected all of us, so there should be a consequence,” Kiefer Sower (11) said.

The damage has also created additional responsibilities for the school’s custodians. So, not only has it affected the students, but it has also heavily impacted the custodians.

“These incidents have kept me constantly busy. These problems aren’t something I regularly deal with, but over the past few months, it’s been a big issue,” Custodian Guy Ponser said.

These incidents are also extremely expensive and hard to fix. Repairs require additional funding and take time away from maintaining other areas of the school.

“Simple Sharpie markings actually required 2 to 3 coats of paint to cover, while the damaged stall door has also made a big mess,” Ponser said.

Nash also estimates the damage will exceed a cost of 10,000 dollars.

Ponser also emphasized that students need to take responsibility for what is happening. He encouraged students who witnessed vandalism to speak up and let school officials know what they see, explaining that everyone has a part to play in keeping the school clean.

Students have also noticed the effects of the bathroom closures. These pranks that started as silly and innocent have vastly affected our students.

“The remaining bathrooms have gotten super dirty,” Hudson Hargis (11) said. “Going across the school just to use the bathroom takes time out of class that we need.”

There are many ways to take action in this situation. Although there are varying opinions, one student believes that it should be more remediation than punishment.

“I believe that the people responsible should just help clean and reopen the bathrooms. It would help them learn, but it also helps the students around them,” Autumn Baker (12) said.

There is currently no specific reopening date for the closed bathrooms. Administrators explained that two of the North Building bathrooms require major repairs, including the repainting of walls and the replacement of damaged fixtures, such as the stall door.

“Once the vandalism stops and repairs are completed, the bathrooms should be reopened,” Nash said.

While the closures have disrupted students’ routines, the administration hopes that holding students accountable and increasing supervision will prevent similar incidents in the future. School officials are reminding students that respecting school property is everyone’s responsibility.

Recent vandalism closes north building bathrooms indefinitely

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