Blue Island School District parents raise concerns over unsanitary school conditions
Blue Island School District parents raise concerns over unsanitary school conditions
Students, parents and former custodians are raising concerns about conditions inside schools in Blue Island School District 130 following the layoffs of about 30 union custodians and a transition to a private cleaning company.
BLUE ISLAND - Students, parents and former custodians are raising concerns about conditions inside schools in Blue Island School District 130 following the layoffs of about 30 union custodians and a transition to a private cleaning company.
Concerns about unsanitary conditions
The backstory:
Students told FOX Chicago they have encountered feces in bathrooms, clogged toilets and a lack of soap and toilet paper.
One student said the conditions have made him not want to go to school.
"In the stall, there was toilet paper with feces on it in the ground. Nobody cleaned it up for about two or three days and after they did clean it up, there were still feces stains on the wall that was not even clean for the first two weeks of school. There was no soap in any of the dispensers, so we had to go all throughout the building looking for soap."
Victoria Garcia, a parent, said her daughter avoids using the bathroom at school because she does not feel safe.
"She will say that she holds using the bathroom multiple days a week throughout the whole day because she doesn’t feel safe using facilities. I’ve heard stories of her friends saying there’s feces on the floor. The toilets are clogged. There’s no soap, the schools are hot, there’s no toilet paper, no one’s mopping. It really is a biohazard," Garcia said.
Parents and community members also described concerns involving mold, rodents, overflowing trash and floors they say have not been properly cleaned since the school year began.
The concerns come after the district laid off about 30 union custodians last month and replaced them with a private cleaning company.
District officials said the transition has taken longer than expected because workers must complete background checks before working around students.
Dig deeper:
The Illinois State Board of Education said it has requested that the South Cook Intermediate Service Center 4 conduct a Health/Life Safety site visit at District 130 to review concerns about building conditions.
The ISBE also requested that any public health concerns identified during the visit that fall outside the Health/Life Safety Code be referred to the Cook County Department of Public Health.
What's next:
FOX Chicago reached out to District 130 for comment but did not hear back as of this publication.
Meanwhile, parents said they are planning to keep their children home Monday to send a message to the district and school board.
Former custodians also told FOX Chicago they are hurt and upset about losing their jobs. They said they would take their positions back if offered the opportunity, saying they want to do so for the sake of the students.
The Source: