Safety concerns voiced at Santa Fe High.
Unless you're a porn star, mentioning condoms in a resignation letter seems, well, inappropriate. But, while Gregory Schneider is no porn star, his references to used and scattered condoms in his Dear John letter to the Santa Fe Public Schools district may actually be appropriate.
In the April 8 letter Schneider cites the presence of used condoms on the Santa Fe High campus as one of nine reasons that compelled him to sign off as a music teacher at the school. Though used condoms constitute a potential health hazard, Schneider says the items were allowed to fester on campus for months. "It's a potential health issue," Schneider tells SFR. "I don't know if the condoms were just blown up like balloons or used as they were intended, but they were unwrapped and should be considered infectious waste."
Santa Fe High Principal Susan Lumley was a recipient of Schneider's letter but says she has no knowledge of condoms left on school grounds. "We teach sex education in our health classes and students have access to condoms in the teen health center, but I don't know anything about used condoms," she says. "I think our custodians do a
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great job keeping our campus clean." Lumley, however, does not deny knowledge of hazardous conditions on campus that have resulted in faculty and student injuries alike and a general outcry that Santa Fe High is unsafe.
For Cathy Lord, concerns about Santa Fe High's safety began just after the school year unfolded. While playing soccer Sept. 29, 2004, on a school field, Lord's daughter Erica slid into one of the metal stakes used as markers on the field. The stake cut her knee to the bone. As a result of the injury, Lord says Erica suffered "muscle and tissue damage. She's still in physical therapy. She's having a lot of pain." According to Lord, 70 stitches were required to patch up just the top layer of skin severed by the stake. She adds that the scars Erica suffered are so massive that she will need plastic surgery.
While the injury alone has been traumatizing, Lord says in some ways its aftermath has been worse. "Erica missed six weeks of class and the school did not cooperate," Lord says. "I got no help with school work from the school." Particularly, requests to have Erica tutored went unanswered and Erica had to drop out of two advanced-placement classes while recovering. Equally unsettling was that soon after Erica's accident, the family investigated and found several metal stakes strewn on the field where the injury occurred. This led Lord to believe her daughter's injury stemmed more from school negligence than chance.
Lumley says SFHS was informed of the Lords' findings and took action. "We have corrected that after several meetings with our maintenance people. We no longer have stakes on the grounds."
Another concern related to dangerous conditions following a March snowstorm. Parts of the SFHS campus frequented by staff, such as the faculty parking lot, were especially cumbersome and icy, teachers say. "The day after our last snow day, a large number of teachers and students slipped on the ice and were injured," Koo Im Tong, chairwoman of the SFHS math department and secretary for the faculty senate, says. "Their injuries ranged from concussions to broken bones and injuries requiring surgery. Why weren't the snow and ice cleared from campus before students and staff reported to school?"
Lumley says the school plans to change its procedures after heavy snowfalls. Next year the administration will work with the maintenance crew to ensure campus pathways are cleared before school days start. Because conditions proved so hazardous after the March snowfall, SFHS National Education Association representative Duane Shields says approximately 20 injured faculty members filed a grievance April 11.
Despite the grievance and other safety concerns, Lumley believes SFHS is not a dangerous place. But with 1,700 students and 200 employees, Lumley says accidents are bound to happen. She adds, though, "We've made adjustments and we've had renovations."
