Parent confronts school board about cleaning practices
At Thursday’s meeting of the Franklin County School Board, concerned parent Donna Sykes from Belgreen addressed the board concerning the students who were having to clean the old and new gyms at Belgreen High School after basketball games and tournaments.
According to Sykes, the sixth- and seventh-grade morning physical education classes were having to perform duties such as mopping the restrooms in the gym, cleaning windows, sweeping floors and picking up trash.
Sykes said her son is a sixth grader at BHS and she feels the cleaning is unsanitary and unfair.
She also said the cleaning was taking the place of the state-required time set aside for students to exercise.
“The school has a full-time custodian who should be taking care of these duties, not the students,” Sykes said. “The students shouldn’t have to clean during a time where they’re supposed to be able to exercise.”
Superintendent Gary Williams said it has been a long-standing tradition that students would help clean the gym after home basketball games and tournaments.
Williams said the practice has been in place for years and hasn’t ever been a problem before.
“There is no custodian in a school in this county that cleans the gym on a regular basis because they have their hands full keeping the main school buildings clean,” Williams said.
“It has always been the tradition that the coaches would be responsible for making sure the gym gets cleaned up after games and sometimes it’s necessary to get the students to help.
“I was a coach for years and that job description included being head custodian in the gym. That’s just how it’s always been.
“Cleaning also teaches the kids responsibility,” Williams added. “They will take more pride in the facilities if they are helping to keep it clean themselves.”
Sykes said this practice may have been the tradition for many years, but she wants it to stop, even if that means going to Montgomery.
“I’ve spoken with the principal, the superintendent and now the school board,” Sykes said. “If this issue cannot be resolved, I’ll make sure Montgomery solves the issue for you.”
Williams maintained that Sykes’ original issue of the sixth graders cleaning the gym has already been resolved.
“The sixth graders are no longer cleaning the old gym or mopping the restrooms,” Williams. “We resolved this issue in a meeting with Mrs. Sykes last week.”
However, Sykes said she would not drop the issue until the seventh graders were also allowed to stop cleaning the new gym after basketball games.
“We’re working with the student booster club right now to find someone who can come in at night after the games are over and clean the gym so that it will already be clean when the students get there in the mornings,” Williams said.
Williams said the seventh-grade students would continue to clean the gym until the end of the school year when other arrangements could be made.
