SHS principal, Dirlene Wheeler, has decided to close the mezzanine for three weeks due to misconduct of students. Several students left the mezzanine a mess and trashed the bathroom adjacent to it. Administrators warned the disorderly students several times before, but the behavior continued.
Many teachers and students have complained of the messes and vandalism left. There have also been items thrown off the mezzanine. Wheeler said that throwing anything off the mezzanine can result in one day of A.C.E.
“The school has visitors that are not always expected. The people who visit could include governors, senators, or any other important figures looking over the premises. Students behind the vandalism don’t have much respect for themselves, the school, or the other students,” assistant principal Larry Hurst said, “The mezzanine is a privilege, and should not be taken for granted. When rules are broken, it does not take much to decide it’s time to close it.”
“Some students might think that this is not wrong because we custodians will clean it at the end of the day. They might claim that it’s what we’re paid to do. But what they don’t understand is that it’s degrading to us because of how hard we work, only to have it all trashed the next day,” said head custodian Jerry Wendt.
Wendt said that in all the years he’s worked at SHS, this was the worst he has ever seen the bathroom adjacent to the mezzanine.
The mezzanine will reopen when school is back in session after Christmas break.